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Class __ZEdai 
Book -l\l( c- 



ARNOLD'S 



£&1 

MEDICAL COMPANION Il9<f 

FOR 

YOUNG MEN; 



CONTAINING THE 



LAWS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND HEALTH, 



HISTORY OF EVERY DISEASE ; 
ITS CAUSE, PREVENTION, AND CURE. 

ALSO, 

A SPECIAL LECTUEE 

ON ORGANIC GENERATION; ITS PHILOSOPHY, SINGULARITIES, 

AND DERANGEMENTS ; CONTAINING MANY STRANGE 

AND USEFUL FACTS ON THE SUBJECT 

OF PROCREATION. 

BY 

J. L. ARNOLD, M.D. 



CINCINNATI: 

H. M. RULISON, QUEEN CITY PUBLISHING HOUSE, 

115 MAIN STREET. 
PHILADELPHIA'. 

DUANE RULISON, QUAKER CITY PUBLISHING HOUSE, 

32 Sooth Third Siriii. 

1 856. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

JOHN L. ARNOLD, 

In the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of Ohio. 



E. MORGAN & SONS, 
8TEREOTYPERS, PRINTERS, AND BINDERS, 
111 Main Street. 



PREFACE. 



A word to the reader, before the perusal of this book. In 
order to have a practical knowledge of this subject, it is neces- 
sary that you study thoroughly the following pages, from the 
first to the last, and that you have studied already my Lectures 
on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. In this way, you can 
acquirfe a thorough knowledge of the human system in a healthy 
and in a diseased condition ; and how to preserve it in the former, 
or bring it safely out of the latter. It is not sufficient that you 
turn to some particular disease and read of it, in order to under- 
stand the disease in all its relations with the body ; you should 
study thoroughly the whole book, and then you will learn the 
general principles that govern the entire system, and be much 
better prepared to understand any particular disease. This book 
does not pretend to take the place of the intelligent physician in 
every case. The intelligent physician is necessary, in every 
community, to advise with in complicated cases ; cases that 
cannot be understood by limited experience. To an intelligent 
physician, the circulation of this book will be an advantage, en- 
abling the community in which he practices, to appreciate his 
acquirements. To the ignorant pretender — the charlatan alone — 
will a dissemination of this kind of knowledge be a disadvantage. 
There are many simple diseases and simple diseased conditions 
of the body that can be understood and treated by those who are 
not physicians, as well as hf~ physicians themselves. In fact, 
these simple diseased conditions arc the commencement of a 

great majority of more serious diseases, and if attended to on 
15 («*) 



IV PEEFACE. 

the start, would generally ward them off entirely. To enable 
the reader to prevent disease ; when it is approaching to check it 
at the commencement — and to treat more serious diseases where 
medical aid cannot be obtained, is the object of this book. 

Among the remedial means recommended, are some whose 
great power render it necessary that they be used with caution. 
Among these, are Blood-letting and the Mercurial preparations. 
Although invaluable in many diseased conditions of the body, 
if pushed too far they are capable of doing harm. It is thus 
with almost every valuable agent ; its power of doing good, 
when properly used, is in proportion to its power of doing harm, 
when improperly used. Where powerfully depleting remedies 
are recommended, particularly blood-letting, a strong plethoric 
habit and a violence of diseased action is presupposed. "When 
this is not the case; milder means should be used. General 
blood-letting will seldom be found absolutely necessary, if 
simpler means for reducing the system be properly used. As 
a general rule, use the mildest means possible, to correct diseased 
action. Never reduce the system more than is absolutely neces- 
sary, so that the period of convalescence may be as short 
as possible. This subject also recommends itself to the general 
student, as a study of Science and Art, without reference to its 
practical utility. No other branch of human knowledge affords 
so vast a field for investigation as this ; and, although much is 
known of it already, sufficient remains unknown to stimulate the 
ardent searcher after discovery. 

J. L. A. 

Januaby, 1856. 



CONTENTS 

TO 

SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE, 

AND TO 

DISEASE AND ITS TREATMENT. 



LECTURE I. 

Introduction. Importance of the subject. The object of the follow- 
ing work. Nine-tenths of the sickness unnecessary. How disease 
is easily cured on the start. Illustration. These lectures an ad- 
vantage to the intelligent physician. Medical jugglery will be 
done away with. The change that this will produce. The author's 
object in practicing the medical profession. The duty of a phy- 
sician. Outline of the following work 13 

The framework. Bone ; its composition ; how demonstrated. Use 
of these parts. When these parts are not in the right proportion. 
Madame Supiot. Lord Anson's voyage. Sensation of bones. Dis- 
eases of bones. Individual bones. Bones of the head ; their 
structure. Elasticity of bones. What this illustrates. Peculiarity 
of the skull ; use of its holes. Bones of the nose. The upper 
jaw. Ductus ad Nasum. The lower jaw ; how its shape varies. 
The teeth. Cause of toothache. The spine. The spinal cord. 
Spinal nerves. Use of the cartilage between the spinal bones ; their 
shape in different parts of the spine. The pelvis ; its peculiarities 
in the two sexes ; its contents ; when too small in the female. The 
coccyx. The thigh-bones. How bones are divided. Why the loug 
bones are cylindrical. Use of the marrow. How the thigh bones 
are fastened to the pelvis ; their manner of being moved. The 
patella or knee-pan. The bones of the leg, the tibia and fibula. 
Bones of the foot and toes, the tarsal, metatarsal, and the phalan- 
ges. Bones of the arm, fore-arm, wrist, hand, and fingers. 
The ribs ; their motions and use. Effects of tight-lacing. The 
scapula or shoulder-blade. The clavicle. The os Hyoides. Bones 
of the ear. The philosophy of hearing. . . , 17 

tr) 



VI CONTENTS. 

LECTURE II. 

The muscular system. Use of the muscles. Illustration. Compo- 
sition of muscle ; how it produces motion ; its nerves. Illustra- 
tion. How all animal motions are produced. Muscles of the scalp, 
ears, mouth, eyes, and nose. Muscles that move the head. How 
the voice is produced. A description of its instrument, the larynx. 
Muscles of the chest and their function. Muscles of the abdomen 
or belly, and their use. The effect of girding the loins tightly; 
worse than girding the chest. Muscles of the thighs. How the 
muscles are fastened to long bones. Muscles of the leg, foot, and 
toes ; their development in pedestrians and dancers. Muscles of 
the arm, fore-arm, hand, and fingers. The nervous system ; has 
two centres ; the voluntary; the involuntary. Nerves issuing 
from the brain. Auditory. Olfactory. Gustatory. Optic. The 
fifth sense. The spinal cord. The spinal nerves. The effect of 
cutting off a nerve. How the feeling of a part may be destroyed 
and the motion remain. How the motion and not the feeling of a 
part may be destroyed ; the cause. The organ of the intellect. The 
involuntary or ganglionic system of nerves ; its functions ; beyond 
the control of the will. The circulatory system. The heart ; its 
structure. Philosophy of the circulation of the blood, and the 
changes the blood undergoes while passing through the lungs and 
through the general system. The capillaries. Arteries. Veins. 
Nutrition. Forces that circulate the blood. What is derived from 
the blood. Secretions. How the blood is replenished. The pro- 
cess of digestion or the conversion of food into blood. Lympha- 
tics ; their function. The process of digestion explained on 
chemical principles. The glandular system. The structure and 
function of a gland. The bile ; its use ; how and when it is poured 
into the bowel. The kidneys ; their function. The urethra. The 
Skin ; its principal function. The reason we do not melt in hot 
weather. Illustration. How a man can remain in a hot oven. 
Why we drink so much in hot weather. Cleanliness of the skin. 
Mucous membranes. Serous membranes ; where each are found 
and their use. The hair ; its growth and use. The beard ; its 
use. The nails 28 

LECTURE III. 

Disease and its treatment. Fever. Why it should be first con- 
sidered. Definition of fever ; its symptoms ; what system it first 
affects, and in what order it affects the others.. 4% 



CONTENTS. Vll 

The effect of fever if it be not checked. Nearly all cases of fever 
might be warded off; how this could be done. Things to be 
avoided. Things to be attended to ; food, exercise, care, ablu- 
tions, cathartics. If skin yellow; if dry. If chills. The steam- 
bath ; how prepared and used 43 

If the fever has set in, what is to be done. If indigestible substances 
in stomach. Nauseants. The use of calomel, oil, and senna. 
Cold water ; how it should be used 44 

The food. How long these remedies should be used. If the fever 
returns. Bleeding how performed. Cupping. If the fever does 
not give way. If an internal organ is congested or inflamed. .45 

The different kinds of fever. The intermittent ; its character ; 
symptoms ; its three stages. The cause of intermittent and re- 
mittent fevers 46 

In what districts it exists. Probabilities of a permanent cure. 
Manner of treating the intermittent fever or fever and ague. Treat- 
ment after the disease has been stopped. A valuable bitters. Treat- 
ment of remittent fever , . . . .47 

Treatment of continued fever. Typhus fever ; its symptoms ; its 
treatment. The action of Mercury on the system 48 

What is to be done when there are complications, as obstinate vomit- 
ing or diarrhea, in an inflammation of some vital organ, as the 
brain, lungs, liver, or bowels. The drinks. External applications. 
The nourishment. When stimulants are necessary, and what are 
best 49 

When nourishment cannot be introduced by the mouth. Salt-bath. 
A thing to be guarded against. Rules to be observed during con- 
valescence. Typhoid fever 50 

Its character ; its treatment. Yellow fever ; its mortality ; its pecu- 
liar characteristics ; its symptoms ; its treatment. A new treat- 
ment 51 

Eruptive fevers. Scarlet fever ; its symptoms and treatment. Rule 
as to the size of doses of medicine for persons of different ages. 
If the throat be sore in scarlet fever. Receipt for making a valu- 
able medicine. Measles ; how different from scarlet fever 52 

A peculiar symptom in this disease. A law of disease in relation to 
peculiar structures. Illustration. What parts are liued with 
mucous membrane. The object to be accomplished in treating 
measles 53 

Remedies to be used. When there is much oppression in the lun^s. 
Small-pox; its description at different stages; its treatment. 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Treatment of the malignant variety. Where excessive diarrhea. 
To prevent " pitting" or " pox-marks." How the system can be 
protected against small-pox. Inoculation and vaccination ... 54 

How to vaccinate. Varioloid. Chicken-pox ; its treatment. Miliary 
fever 55 

Its symptoms and treatment 56 

LECTURE IV. 

Inflammation ; its meaning ; how characterized. An established 
principle. How inflammation may terminate. Resolution. Sup- 
puration. Ulceration. Mortification 57 

Divisions of inflammation. Acute. Chronic. Treatment ; general ; 
local. A variety of local applications. If the inflammation cannot be 
" scattered" or suppuration prevented. How it is to be treated. 58 

How to make a poultice. The skin ; its structure. Cuticle. Rete- 
mucosum. Cutis vera. Diseases of the skin. Erysipelas 59 

How distinguished ; where it occurs ; how it extends ; its cause. 
General treatment. Applications to the part 60 

Boils ; their situation ; how " driven away;" when matter or pus has 
formed. Tetter or ringworm ; its cure. Itch ,* its cause and cure. 
Ulcers ; fever-sores ; treatment. A valuable ointment. If much 
fever with ulcers. Where a scrofulous or bad constitution. A very 
valuable preparation 61 

The sulphur-bath ; how made and used. Shingles ; how cured. 
Scald-head ; its treatment. Corns ; their nature and cure 62 

Chilblains. The eye ; its structure ; cornea ; sclerotic and choroid 
coats ; iris and ciliary processes 63 

Retina ; lens ; aqueous and vitreous humors. The use of each of 
these parts of the eye. The philosophy of vision. The eyebrows. 
The eyelids. The tarsi. The meibomian glands 64 

Muscles that move the eye and its appendages. The lachrymal 
gland. The ductus ad nasum. The conjunctiva. Diseases of the 
eye. Inflammation of the conjuctiva ; its cause. How to remove 
particles of dust or insects from the eye 65 

What should be avoided in inflammation of the conjunctiva. Treat- 
ment ; local ; general. Cataract ; its cause and cure. Amaurosis 
or palsy of the optic nerve ; its treatment 66 

Ulcers or morbid growths on the eye ; their treatment. The nose ; its 
structure ; arrangement of the olfactory nerve. Philosophy of 
smelling. Diseases of the nose. Catarrh. Polypus. Noli-me- 



CONTENTS. IX 

tangere or touch-me-not. How foreign bodies can be removed from 

the nose 67 

The ear ; its anatomy and physiology. The philosophy of hearing. 
The Eustachian tube ; how it becomes closed, and how this 
closure injures the hearing ; how relieved. Bones and muscles 
of the ear 68 

Inflammations of the structures of the ear ; their treatment ; inter- 
nal and external remedies. ...,...* 69 

LECTURE V. 

The mouth ; comparison. The lips ; their structure. Sore lips ; a 
cure. How the lips are moved. The saliva; its source and use. 
Drinks unnecessary while eating 70 

How chewing, spitting, and swallowing are performed. The Pha- 
rynx. Inflammation of the mouth. Treatment. Sore mouth in 
children ; how treated. Valuable applications. Treatment of sali- 
vation. The tonsils. Quinsy; its cause, nature, and treatment. 71 

Chronic inflammation of the tonsils ; how treated. Elongated uvula 
(teat of the palate); its danger ; its treatment. The windpipe ; its 
situation. Why the food does not pass down the windpipe. The 
epiglottis. The larynx. The cordse vocales. The arytenoid car- 
tilages 72 

The muscles that move them. The philosophy of the voice. What 
the tongue has to do with it. Difference of the larynx in the two 
sexes. "Adam's apple." Croup ; its symptoms and treatment. .73 

Necessity of opening the trachea. The trachea. Bronchise. Divi- 
sions of the bronchise. The air cells ; their use 74 

Bronchitis ; its treatment. The warm-bath. Chronic bronchitis ; its 
treatment ; what must be avoided. Consumption ; its origin. Tu- 
bercles. How consumption destroys its victim ; how it can be 
detected ; its symptoms. Examination of the chest 75 

Can consumption be cured ? 76 

The only hope. The treatment ; how it can be warded off ; use of 
tonics ; the salt-bath ; change of climate ; exercise ; remedies ; 
food. Inhalation. Pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs ; its 
symptoms 77 

Its treatment. A variety of inflammation of the lungs found in 
malarious or fever and ague districts, called "Lung fever.'' 78 

Requires a peculiar treatment. What this treatment should be. 



X CONTENTS. 

The effect of ordinary treatment in this variety. How expectora- 
tion can be assisted 79 

Treatment during convalescence. Pleurisy. Spasmodic affections 
of the lungs, such as Asthma or Phthisic ; how relieved 80 

Diseases of the heart ; what can be done. Dropsy of the heart. The 
diaphragm ; its structure and arrangement 81 

Abdominal organs. The esophagus ; how to remove foreign sub- 
stances from. The stomach ; its structure. How bile gets into 
the stomach 82 

Irritation of the stomach. Inflammation of the stomach ; treat- 
ment. Dyspepsia ; its seat, symptoms, and cause 83 

Its treatment. How to prevent a return of dyspepsia. The duode- 
num 84 

Inflammation of the intestines ; how distinguished, and how cured. 
Chronic inflammation of the intestines 85 

LECTURE VI. 

Disease of the liver or " Liver Complaint." Dysentery or u Bloody 
Flux." 86 

How it should be treated. Piles 87 

Hernia. Rheumatism ; its varieties. Acute rheumatism. Chronic 
rheumatism. Valuable remedies 88 

Metastasis of rheumatism. Gout 89 

Who are most subject to it ; its cure. Dropsy ; what causes it ; 
where located ; its treatment. Dropsy of the head in children. 90 

Tapping. Palsy ; its varieties ; seat of the disease ; cause ; treat- 
ment for. An operation 91 

Use of Electricity. Convulsions or Fits ; different causes ; how 
removed ; when they become habitual 92 

Epilepsy. Apoplexy ; its mortality ; general description and treat- 
ment of , 93 

How prevented. Hydrophobia ; its singular nature ; may lie dor- 
mant ; its horrid symptoms 94 

How prevented ; in reference to treatment. No confidence in trifling 
herbs. The use of spirits 95 

Bites of venomous insects and snakes ; how treated. Cancer • the 
part it attacks ; a local application the only certain cure. ..... .96 



CONTENTS. XI 

Affections of the kidneys and bladder ; inflammation of. Stone in 
the bladder. Excrescences on the skin ; warts ; corns 97 

Asphyxia from drowning; how treated. Artificial respiration. 
Electricity. Poisons 98 

Treatment for poisoning from Narcotics ; opium ; arsenic ; corrosive 
sublimate ; nitric, sulphuric or muriatic acid ; caustic potash ; lye 
or any of the alkalies. How an emetic is assisted. Hysteria or 
u Hysterics." 99 

Delirium Tremens ; its two varieties requiring opposite modes of 
treatment. Wounds. Incised wounds ; how treated 100 

If a large bloodvessel be cut. Punctured wounds. Lacerated or 
contused wounds ; cause of their not bleeding 101 

How to tell whether a bloodvessel be an artery or vein, and conse- 
quently how to tie it. Simple method to stop bleeding 102 

LECTURE VII. 

Slight wounds of the abdomen. Wounds of the intestines. Wounds 
of the neck. How food should be given. Slight wounds of the 
chest. When they penetrate the lungs ; when blood collects. .103 

What the patient should avoid. Gunshot wounds. Danger not so 
great at first as afterward. Where the system sympathizes very 
much with the wounds. Common bruises and sprains. When a 
person has received a violent shock to the system. When a blood- 
vessel is ruptured that cannot be tied 104 

Hemorrhage ; in plethoric individuals ; if it continues. Hemorrhage 
from the uterus ; from the nose ; lungs. In what cases hemor- 
rhage should not be stopped. Wounds of the head ; why danger- 
ous ; where skull fractured 105 

Where the tendons of muscles are cut off. Lockjaw. Fractures ; 

definition ; its varieties ; how detected ; treatment ; if the flesh 

wounded or bloodvessels ruptured 106 

Fractures. Fracture of the thigh-bone 107 

Anchylosis or stiff joint. Fractures in the joints ; in all other bones 

of the body. Dislocations ; definition ; how detected ; how reduced. 

Dislocation of the thigh and leg 108 

Of the shoulder ; of the smaller bones ; the lower jaw ; its disloca- 
tion and fracture ; how treated 109 

When there is a difficulty in reducing a dislocation. Amputat on 



Xll CONTENTS. 

when a surgeon cannot be obtained in time how it can be per- 
formed 110 

Cholera ; its history Ill 

Its characteristics ; its causes ; where most apt to occur and in 
what classes of persons ; why more common in cities 112 

Asiatic cholera ; its symptoms ; how it can be checked ; its differ- 
ent stages and their peculiar symptoms 113 

Its termination ; appearances after death. Means to be used for its 
prevention, 114 

How a person should live in cholera times. Chlorine. Lime. Treat- 
ment , 115 

Treatment proper for its different stages 116 

Treatment during convalescence 117 

LECTURE VIII. 

Organs of Generation. Peculiarities of the sexes. Peculiarities of 
man ; of woman. Male organs of generation.. . . .118 

Semen. The Vesiculae Seminales ; their muscles ; the use of these 
muscles. Functions of the male organs of generation. The exci- 
tants of these organs. Diseases of the male organs of generation. 
Gonorrhea. Syphilis 119 

How these are contracted ; how both contracted at the same time. 
These diseases a punishment for violating a law of Nature. Treat- 
ment of Gonorrhea. Strictures ; how cured 120 

Bougies ; manner of introducing. Treatment of syphilis. Bubo . . 121 

Treatment of syphilis when it becomes constitutional. Impotence ; 
its cause and cure 122 

Onanism or masturbation. Hydrocele. Cancer of the testicle. Fe- 
male organs of generation 123 

Internal and external. Philosophy of impregnation. Connection 
between the mother and child. Signs of pregnancy 124 

Membranes that surround the child. How the child is nourished. 
The navel cord. Circulation of the blood in the fcetus or child 
before birth. The placenta or afterbirth. At what age the child 
can live in the external world. Directions for childbirth 125 

Hemorrhage after delivery. Officious midwives and doctors. The 

duties of a physician. Effects of hurrying the case 126 

Flooding. Child-bed fever. Tying and cutting the umbilical or 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

navel cord. How the child should be treated. Food of the mother. 
Diseases of women . 127 

Syphilis. Gonorrhea. Derangements of the uterine system. At 
what age the menses should appear ; the effect of their non-ap- 
pearance ; the treatment. Stoppage of the menses 128 

Treatment. "Green sickness." Excessive flow of the menses. 
Leucorrhea or u whites." « .129 

Painful menstruation. Falling of the womb or Prolapsus Uteri. 
Tumors and Polypi. Cancer of the uterus 130 



MATERIA MEDICA. 

LECTURE IX. 

What is included under this head. .... * 131 

Food ; its character ; quantity ; variety. Preserves and condiments. 
Temperature of food ; how eaten. The best drinks. The effects 
of using hot, stimulating food and drinks. "Warmth of the body. 
Clothing. Exercise. Effects of standing in the cold. Fresh air. 
Sudden changes in temperature. Cleanliness. Evacuation of the 
bowels. Equanimity of the mind 132 

Bad habits to be avoided. Light clothing. The diet for a sick per- 
son ; with fever ; with inflammation of the bowels. Drinks in 
fevers. Food during convalescence. Food for persons with chronic 
diseases ; dyspepsia ; consumption 133 

Means for quickly reducing the system. Blood-letting ; in what 
cases and under what circumstances it may be resorted to. How 
to draw blood ; in what position ; fainting from ; how stopped 
quantity ; repetition 134 

Cupping and leeching ; when necessary ; how performed. Diseases 
requiring blood-letting 135 

Its use in reducing dislocations. Case of obstinate costiveness 
related. When blood-letting not necessary. The author's expe- 
rience in blood-letting. Emetics. Definition ; where useful. .136 

Kecipe for an emetic ; how used. An emetic for poisoning ; for affec- 
tions of the chest. The best emetic for children ; for croup ; 
snuff-plaster. An emetic to assist in raising the matter in con- 
sumption. An emetic to be used in the beginning of fevers. .137 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Tobacco as an emetic. The size of doses for different ages. Emet- 
ics used as nauseants; in what cases. Eecipe ; for adults.. .138 

For children; Cathartics. Definition; different in action; where 
indicated; improper use of; in what cases should be used with cau- 
tion. Injections ; in dysentery 139 

Mild cathartics. Where indicated. A variety of recipes. More ac- 
tive cathartics. Recipe. A pill used at the Commercial Hospi- 
tal, Cincinnati. Cathartics for dropsy. Composition of Bran- 
dreth's pills 140 

Of Morrison's pills, No. 1 and No. 2. Recipe where the liver is in- 
active ; where there is spasm or griping. A tonic pill for weakly 
persons. A pill for weakly girls and women who are irregular in 
their menses * 141 

Drastic or powerful cathartics. Croton oil, scammony, eleterium, 
colocynth ; where indicated. Cathartic injections. Where useful. 
Recipes. Cathartics for infants 142 

A variety of recipes. Injections for infants. How to use an injection. 
Diaphoretics. Definition ; in what cases they can be used. Means 
for producing diaphoresis or sweating. When restlessness. . .143 

Dover's Powder. Sweet spirits of nitre. The steam -bath. When a 
gentle moisture is desired. In high fever. About the use of cold 
water in fevers. Expectorants 144 

Depletion ; in what diseases useful. Means of producing expectora- 
tion. A variety of expectorants and expectorant recipes. Inhala- 
tions. Expectorants for consumption. Expectorants introduced 
by inhalation. Valuable preparations for coughs ; for adults ; for 
children 145 

Diuretics. Definition ; where useful. The most valuable diuretics 
and diuretic preparations 146 

LECTURE X. 

Emmenagogues. Their action on the womb. Means that assist 
emmenagogues. The principal emmenagogues. Anthelmintics 
Definition. A list of the most useful anthelmintics with their 
doses 147 

Tonics. Definition ; in what conditions of the system indicated. 
Food. Preparations of iron, why useful. Valuable preparations 
and how used 148 

A tonic for dyspepsia ; for liver complaint. Tonics used externally. 
Tonics for debilitated infants 149 



CONTENTS. XV 

For children subject to the fever and ague. A tonic injection. 
Bathing. Astringents. Their action ; in what cases used. The 
principal astringents. A good prescription for ordinary summer 
complaint , « 150 

The most valuable astringent. Prescriptions for obstinate diarrhea 
For diarrhea in infants. Blackberry syrup. Prescription for 
dysentery 151 

Prescription for sore mouth ; for sore eyes ; for hemorrhage from the 
womb ; for hemorrhage from the lungs ; for hemorrhage from the 
stomach. External applications. Sedatives. Definition ; in what 
cases useful ♦ « . 152 

Opium and its different preparations. Other medicines used as seda- 
tives. Sedatives applied externally, in what cases 153 

A valuable sedative ointment. Water as a sedative ; how used. Chlo- 
roform ; its value in surgical operations, nervous diseases, and in 
child-bearing 154 

Sedatives for children. A number of valuable preparations. Anti- 
spasmodics. In what cases indicated, The principal antispas- 
modics. For spasms in children. Antispasmodic injection. 
Chloroform 155 

Excitants or stimulants. "When they can be used ; in prostration ; 
torpidity; drowning ; stroke of lightning ; low fevers. Used lo- 
cally; in what cases. The principal stimulants. Friction.. . .156 

Electricity. Alteratives and sorbefacients. Definition ; their action. 
Mercury and its different preparations ; how used ; where liver 
inactive 157 

In croup. Why mercurial preparations are valuable. An excellent 
ointment. An antidote for lice of all species 158 

External applications. Stimulating; their use and where indicated. 
Blister-plaster, how made. A mustard -plaster, how made. A 
valuable liniment ; another ; how liniments should be used. . .159 

Granville's lotion ; composition of the milder ; of the stronger. An 
ointment for indolent and long-standing ulcers (sores). Cooling 
and sedative applications. Where useful ; water ; ice. A poultice 
for a painful swelling or inflammation. A valuable ointment for 
painful sores. , 1 60 

Ointment for the itch. Ointments for venereal and scrofulous sores. 
A good ointment for a simple sore. Tartar-emetic ointment ; 
use. Poultices ; where useful ; different kinds. Applications for 
"proud-flesh;" for sores resembling canciu-s. How to kill the 
nerve of a tooth 161 



XVI CONTENTS. 

An application where mortification is about to take place. A tooth- 
powder. A preparation for coloring the hair ; another. Poisons 
and their antidotes. When a poison is swallowed what is to be 
done first 162 

The next thing to be done. If the poison be corrosive. Antidotes 
for alkalies ; saltpetre ; liver of sulphur ; arsenic ; tartar-emetic ; 
carbonate of barytes ; blue vitriol ; verdigris ; Scheele's green ; for 
food cooked in copper vessels ; Spanish-flies ; opium, laudanum, 
paregoric, morphia 163 

Lead, red lead, white lead, sugar of lead ; corrosive sublimate ; iodide 
of mercury; oxalic acid. Prussic acid ; nitrate of silver ; muriate 
of tin ; Dyer's solution ; putty ; gunpowder ; sulphate of zinc 
(white vitriol); acetate of zinc; muriatic acid; nitric acid: sul- 
phuric acid 164 

Treatment of the bites of mad dogs, serpents, aud insects 165 

The most Important Medicines that should be kept in a family 
living at a distance from a Drug Store * 165 

"Weights and Measures, by which Medicines are administered. . .166 

A parting word of Advice to the reader how to be Healthy, Happy, 

Handsome, and Long-lived 167 



LECTURE I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It is unnecessary to dwell on the vast importance 
of the subject before us, and the many advantages a 
proper understanding of it would confer ; suffice it to 
say, that just in proportion as health is valuable — just 
in proportion as a long and happy life is desirable — in 
that proportion is a knowledge of the laws of life, of 
health, and of the healing art valuable. We do not 
expect, in these lectures, to make every hearer a skill- 
ful physician ; this requires the patient study of years 
and not of books alone ; but of Nature, as she exhibits 
herself under every possible circumstance. A well 
qualified physician will always be necessary in the 
most intelligent community ; to advise with in the 
most extreme cases, where the disease cannot be com- 
prehended by those whose experience is limited, and 
where the ordinary means of treatment are insufficient. 
But I do expect to set forth the laws of Life and Health 
in such a manner that all may comprehend them ; and 
by living according to them, prevent much, if not all 
the bodily suffering they would otherwise be subject to ; 
for it may be set down as a feet, that nine-tenths of 
our sickness is owing to a violation of the laws 01 
our system. I expect to set forth the simple, com- 
mon sense principles of the healing art (which at the 

(13) 



14: SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

beginning of almost every disease can be applied by the 
unprofessional, as well as by the professional, and 
which, in a majority of cases, if applied at first, 
will nip disease in the bud), so that each person can 
understand and apply them. 

It is the inability to apply the proper remedies at 
first, that makes so many serious cases of sickness. 
When a fire breaks out in a building, a child with a^ 
bucketful of water, can put it out; but if the fire gets 
fiercely agoing, it baffles the power of the most skill- 
ful men. And if the child, ignorant of what course 
to take, throws a combustible liquid, such as turpen- 
tine, on the fire, in the hopes of quenching it, he 
makes the matter tenfold worse. When a person gets 
sick, he or his friend will do something for him ; no 
difference how injurious their treatment may be, they 
must do something, until the case becomes alarming, 
and then they send for a physician; whereas, if the 
case had not been made worse by improper treatment, 
it would not have needed a physician. Now, my 
object is to enable every one to throw on the bucket 
of water on the start, instead of the turpentine, so as 
to quench the flame before the whole structure is in- 
volved. Perhaps there may be some physicians, actu- 
ated by mercenary, rather than philanthropic motives, 
who will censure me for thus removing the veil from 
medical science, so that all can see and understand. 
But the consciousness of doing good to thousands, 
will more than compensate me for bearing the un- 
grounded ill-will of the few. These lectures, instead 
of injuring the intelligent physician, will be an advan- 
tage to him ; for by disseminating the first principles 
of medicine through the community in which he prac- 
tices, it will enable his patrons to better distinguish 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 15 

him from the mere empiric, who, by operating on the 
people's ignorance of the healing art, not unfrequently 
is better patronized than the intelligent physician. 

I trust that the progressive enlightenment of the 
age will ere-long do away with that mystery which 
has so long kept this most valuable knowledge from 
the popular mind. What has been not inappropriately 
called " the jugglery of medicine," must eventually 
be done away with. The time will come when medi- 
cines will not be a whit more valuable, nor diseases 
or parts of the body more singular, for being dubbed 
with Latin names. All this mummery and mystery 
will give place to good, solid common sense. The 
science of Physiology and Materia Medica will be 
taught in our common schools, and will be considered 
essential studies. When this is done, we shall not see 
so much contemptible quackery and humbuggery as 
now exist in the practice of medicine. We shall not 
see ignorant charlatans grow rich from their impudence 
alone, We shall not see the commonest medicines 
(disguised under the senseless and ridiculous names 
that we see paraded in the newspapers,) swallowed 
down by the million, from the mere recommendation 
of the lies advertised in their circulars. In a word, 
we shall not see the people taking any thing and every- 
thing they hear recommended for their ailments, with- 
out knowing the nature or even the names of the in- 
gredients of these compounds. 

I started out in life with the resolution of devoting 
what feeble powers I was possessed of to the cause of 
humanity, and I think I can best serve that end at 
present, and particularly through this new country, 
where the seeds of disease are so thickly scattered, by 
disseminating, to the extent of my small abilities, the 
16 



16 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

principles of health and disease, and of the means of 
preserving the former and of curing the latter Thus 
far my life has been principally devoted to my profes- 
sion. When a student, I devoted myself to it with 
the ardor of an enthusiast. I not only informed my- 
self from books and lectures, but from the sick-bed of 
the hospital, where disease is depicted in every imag- 
inable shape, and where alone the medical student 
can properly qualify himself. The last few years 
have been devoted to the practical application of the 
principles of medicine to the removal of disease, 
rendering me now, I imagine, capable of imparting 
instruction on this subject, both from study and from 
practical experience. Henceforth, therefore, I shall en- 
deavor to use my professional acquirements, not wholly 
as a means of enriching myself, but by teaching others, 
to add my mite to the welfare of the whole. " Let 
your light shine before men," is a maxim applicable 
to the physician, if to any one ; because he holds in 
his hands the keys of life and death; and how cul- 
pable must he be, if he withholds this light of know- 
ledge from his fellows! Every physician ought to 
consider himself the medical teacher, as well as ad- 
viser, of the community in which he lives. I admit, 
if every well qualified physician would thus consent 
to make himself useful, fewer physicians would be ne- 
cessary ; but what were necessary would be of a higher 
order and the people at large would be greatly the 
gainers. 

I shall first give an outline of the anatomy and 
physiology of the human body; that is, give a brief 
description of its different parts and the duties those 
parts perform in the animal economy, in a healthy 
condition ; and the way of keeping those parts in a 



AND HYGIENE. 17 

healthy condition. Then I shall consider the body in 
its unhealthy condition ; the causes and effects of this 
condition, and the best means of changing this to a 
healthy condition. Next, I shall treat of the diseases 
of each organ separately, and their treatment. Mate- 
ria Medica, or a description of the most valuable 
medicines used at the present day, with their proper- 
ties and doses, will form the subject of the last lecture. 

THE BONES. 

The framework of the body is composed of the bones 
and the ligaments. 

Bone is composed of two parts intimately mixed 
together; an earthy part and a gelatinous part. If 
you burn a bone, the gelatinous part will be removed, 
and you will have the earthy or limy part remain- 
ing; being shaped precisely as it was before, but 
whiter and much more brittle. If you let a bone lie 
sometime in muriatic acid, the limy portion will be 
eaten out by the acid, and you will have the animal 
or gelatinous portion remaining, having the same 
shape as the bone, but so limber that you can tie it in 
a knot like a string. 

Now the mere separation of the bone into its two 
parts will show you its admirable composition to meet 
the objects for which it was designed. The limy part 
is to give it firmness, to prevent its bending. Where 
this limy part does not exist in sufficient quantity, 
the limbs are apt to become crooked, as in rickets, and 
more particularly in a disease called Mollities Ossium 
or softening of the bones. The thigh-bones of Ma- 
dame Supiot were so flexible, from a deficiency of lime, 
that she could lay her feet on each side of her head; 
her other bones were equally flexible. At her death. 



18 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

she was two feet two inches shorter than before she 
was afflicted with this disease. 

The animal or gelatinous portion of the bone is as 
important in its structure as the limy or earthy por- 
tion ; it serves to make the bone tough and difficult to 
be broken. Where there is not a sufficient quantity of 
animal matter in the bone, it is brittle, liable to be 
broken by the slightest jar. The contractions of the 
muscles alone have been known to fracture the bones. 
This state of the bones constitutes the disease called 
Fragilitas Ossium or brittleness of the bones. Old 
persons are most subject to it. It often is produced 
by the scurvy. During Lord Anson's voyage around 
the globe, his seamen were so afflicted with brittle- 
ness of the bones from the effects of scurvy, that all 
whose bones had been broken, however well they 
might have been united, had them to come apart again. 

The bones, in a healthy state, have but little feeling, 
but when diseased, they become exceedingly painful, 
more so than the flesh when it is diseased, because the 
enlarged bloodvessels press the nerve against the sides 
of the bone ; but when the flesh is diseased it yields 
from the pressure of the nerve. 

The bones are subject to a disease called Caries, 
which acts on the bones as an eating sore does on the 
flesh. It is caries that causes the teeth to decay. Ex- 
ostosis is an enlargement of the bones. I have seen 
cases of exostosis in the Commercial Hospital, Cincin- 
nati, where the bones were twice their natural size. 
The bone sometimes changes into a fleshy substance. 
Necrosis, or death of the bone, corresponds to mortifi- 
cation in the flesh. Spina Ventosa, is where matter 
forms in the interior of a bone and afterward makes 
its way outward beneath the skin. 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 19 

INDIVIDUAL BONES. 

Bones of the Head. The bones of the skull are 
separated from each other at birth, so that in passing 
into the world, they can lap oyer each other and thus 
occupy less space. They are flat ; concave internally, 
and convex externally. They are formed of two plates, 
between which is an elastic, spongy substance called 
the Diploe. This diploe is elastic, and serves as a 
protection to the brain from blows. And here I 
will remark that all bones are endowed with this 
elasticity to prevent the constant jarring that would 
otherwise take place. If our bones were as inelastic 
as lead, the jumping from a fence would produce such 
a concussion or shock of the brain, that we should 
instantly die. 

We see illustrated here, as in every other part of the 
human body, and in fact, in every part of the animal 
and vegetable kingdoms, the infinite wisdom of an 
all-wise Creator. The most insignificant part of the 
most insignificant insect is eloquent of the wisdom of 
God. Everything in nature is perfectly adapted to 
the purpose for which it was designed. No improve- 
ment in any organized thing, can be suggested by the 
acutest human mind. 

The two plates of the skull &re in some places sepa- 
rated from each other, forming cells ; as is the case 
behind the eyebrows, forming what are called the 
Frontal Sinuses. These frontal sinuses communicate 
with the nose and discharge matter into it not unfre- 
quently, when a person has a bad cold. The bones of 
the skull, during childhood, gradually unite, until they 
become as one bone, inclosing the brain in a firm case, 
best adapted, by its spherical form, to counteract the 
effects of blows. Wherevov you strike the skull, vou 



20 

strike an arch whose columns go in every direction — 
and an arch is the most resisting of all structures. 

Through the skull are holes, in different parts, for 
the passage of nerves and bloodvessels. At the base 
of the skull is a large hole, through which passes the 
spinal marrow — the largest nerve of the body — down 
through the middle of the back -bone. 

The Upper jaw-bone and the bones of the nose are 
joined to the skull. The lower jaw is articulated 
with it by ligaments. A great part of the nose is filled 
with thin plates of bone, on the surface of which is 
spread out the Olfactory or smelling nerve. From this 
arrangement we see that the odors drawn in at the 
nose, have a much larger extent of nerve to act upon 
than if the nerve was expanded only on the sides of 
the nose. In the upper jaw-bone are two cavities — 
one on each side — opening into the sides of the nose, 
which are sometimes the seat of a very painful dis- 
ease — the inflammation of its lining membrane. 
When matter collects in these cavities and does not 
get exit, a tooth has to be drawn and a hole bored 
from the socket of the tooth into the cavity of the jaw 
to let the matter out. There is another small hole 
opening into the nose on each side ; it leads from the 
nose, through a small tube, called the Ductus ad 
Nasum, up into the socket of the eye. Through this 
tube the tears pass from the eye into the nose. When 
this tube is stopped up the tears run down over the 
cheek, producing a constant weeping. This difficulty 
may be remedied by enlarging it with bougies or by 
inserting a small silver tube in the duct. 

The Lower jaw is shaped like a horse-shoe, bent up 
at the heel. In infancy it is bent but very little at the 
back part, called the Angle of the jaw ; as the teeth 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 21 

come in it becomes more bent; as the teeth fall out it 
becomes more straight again, as in infancy ; thus the 
child's lower jaw and the aged person's have the same 
shape. This provision is to enable the jaws to come 
together at all ages. When this change takes place 
in persons with long noses, they are apt to be provided 
with a pair of pinchers, the nose and chin making the 
forks thereof. 

The Teeth are composed of ordinary bone internally, 
and of a hard enamel externally. When this enamel 
is destroyed, which is done by hot drinks, acids, and 
biting hard substances, the internal structure quickly 
decays, as all bones do when long exposed to the air ; 
hence the necessity of preserving carefully the enamel 
of the teeth by carefully avoiding the destructive influ- 
ences spoken of above. Each tooth is provided with 
a nerve, an artery, and a vein, which enter it at the 
point of the root. When the nerve of the tooth be- 
comes exposed, or the inner structure of the tooth 
becomes diseased, it is subject to the painful affection 
known to almost every one — the toothache. The reason 
why the toothache is so painful is that the bloodvessels 
become enlarged and press the nerve against the side 
of the tooth, there being no chance for the nerve to 
yield as there is in a fleshy part. 

Next we come to the Spine or back-bone. 

The spine is a column of twenty-four bones, one 
placed above another. Through each of these bones, 
vertically, passes a large hole which, when the bones 
are together, forms a continuous tube from the large 
hole at the bottom of the skull, where the uppermost 
bone is attached, to the lowest extremity of the 
sacrum — the bone on which the spine rests. Through 
this Spinal Canal, as it is called, passes the Spinal Cord 



22 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

or Spinal Marrow — the largest nerve of the body, 
or rather all the nerves of the body bound up in 
one cord. Between each of the bones of the spine, 
on each side, is a much smaller hole, through which 
comes out a nerve from the spinal cord to supply 
the parts nearest it with nervous influence. There 
are twenty -five pairs of these nerves coming out from 
as many pairs of holes between the spinal bones. 
The upper and lower bone, each, forms half of 
the hole for the exit of the nerve: five more pairs 
of these holes for the exit of nerves coming from the 
sacrum. 

The spinal bones or vertebrae have little promi- 
nences of bone protruding from each side and from 
the back part ; to these are attached muscles for bend- 
ing the spine in different directions, and for moving 
other parts of the body. Between each of the bones 
is a cartilaginous or gristly substance to make the 
spinal column more elastic, preventing concussions 
or jarrings of the brain, and to afford easier motion 
between the bones of the spine. 

The bones of the different parts of the spine are a 
little different in their shape. Those of the neck (the 
Cervical vertebrae) are flat, and shaped so as to afford 
great rotary motion, enabling us to look in all direc- 
tions without turning our body. The cervical vertebrse 
are seven in number. Below these bones are the Dor- 
sal vertebrae, behind the breast ; they are twelve in 
number. They admit of but little motion, because 
much motion of the breast would interfere with the 
action of the heart and lungs. To the sides of the 
dorsal vertebrae are attached the heads of the twelve 
riba. The other extremeties of the ribs are attached 
to the sternum or breast-bone. 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 23 

The five lower bones of the spine (the Lumbar ver- 
tebrae) are larger and their articulating surfaces more 
convex, so as to allow of much motion backward and 
forward, and sidewise. The spinal column or back- 
bone rests on the pelvis or bones of the hip. 

The bones of the Pelvis are large and strong for the 
attachment of the muscles that move the legs. They 
constitute the foundation to which the rest of the 
frame is attached. The pelvis is much larger and 
broader in the female than in the male, which makes 
her hips appear so wide. This female peculiarity is 
made more prominent in our times by the superabun- 
dance of clothing used about the lower part of the 
body. The pelvis sits on the heads of the thigh-bones, 
which are round like balls, and fit into corresponding 
round sockets in the pelvis. They are held there by a 
strong ligament which covers the whole joint, and by 
a round ligament that goes from the head of the thigh- 
bone into the socket. The pelvis has a shape some- 
thing like a basin, from which it derives its name. 

In the cavity of the pelvis are the lower intes- 
tines, the urinary organs, and the female organs of 
generation. The cavity is much larger in the female 
than in the male, to allow the passage of the child. 
This wideness of the hips and largeness of the cavity 
of the pelvis is a very important point in female per- 
fection. Where the hips are narrow and the cavity 
consequently small, it is with difficulty children are 
brought forth. Sometimes the cavity is so small that 
the child cannot possibly pass through; then the 
child has to be cut to pieces and taken away piece- 
meal ; or the mother has to be cut open, and the child 
taken out through the abdomen or belly. 

Extending an inch and a half or two inches below 
17 



24 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

the lowest point of the sacrum, is a small tapering 
bone, with two or three divisions, called the Coccyx. 
This might well be named the tail-bone of man ; and 
especially by those philosophers who contend that 
man wore originally a bona fide tail. This Coccyx 
turns inward and is sometimes broken in parturition 
(child-bearing), especially in those who have no chil- 
dren until a late period of life. 

The thigh-bone (Femur) is large and strong ; this is 
necessary, because the weight of the whole body rests 
on these bones. Here, I would remark, that bones 
are divided into flat, round, and long bones. Eound 
bones are those thick, hard bones, comprising the wrist 
and back part of the foot. Long bones , are those 
forming the arms, legs, fingers and toes. They are 
cylindrical, larger at the ends than in the middle, and 
hollow within the shaft. The ends are large and 
solid, to articulate with other bones. The shaft is 
hollow Jbecause it is much stronger than if the same 
quantity of bone of which it is composed, were in the 
form of a solid shaft. The hollows of long bones are 
filled with a very nutritious substance — the marrow — 
which supports the body, by being absorbed and taken 
up into the blood, when the body is deprived of its 
natural food. The heads of the thigh-bones, where 
they articulate or join with the pelvis, are round like 
balls, and fit nicely into sockets, where they are held 
by a large, round ligament going from the upper part 
of the ball to the upper part of the socket, and 
by a capsular ligament, which surrounds the ball, 
and is fastened to the edge of the socket, inclos- 
ing the head of the thigh-bone in a shut sack. To 
the thigh-bones are attached large muscles, fas- 
tened at the other end to the bones of the pelvis and 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 



25 



spine. These muscles move the thigh in different 
directions. Another set of muscles commence at the 
thigh-bone and are inserted into the leg, moving that. 
The lower end of the thigh-bone is articulated with the 
upper end of the tibia or leg bone ; before this joint, 
between the extremities of the two bones, is the flat, 
short bone, called the Patella or knee-pan, designed to 
protect the joint, and assist the motion of the leg ; it 
is attached below, by means of a strong ligament to 
the tibia or leg bone; and above, to the muscles that 
form the fleshy part of the fore-part of the thigh, de- 
signed by their contraction to throw the leg forward. 
i Beside the tibia or large bone of the leg there is an- 
other smaller one of the same length, lying on the 
outside of the tibia, to give better support to the 
muscles of the leg. This bone is called the Fibula. 
These bones, the tibia and fibula, are articulated 
with the bones of the foot. 

BONES OF THE FOOT. 

The back part of the foot is composed of several 
thick, short bones, closely connected together, admit- 
ting of but little motion, but giving great strength to 
that part of the foot on which the weight of the body 
generally rests. Extending before these, are the bones 
of the instep and toes. The first row of five bones, 
is called the Metatarsal bones ; they are very strong, 
and have but little motion. The next three rows or 
phalanges decrease in size and strength till the last 
row. The different joints of the bones of the foot are 
bound together by ligaments. The bones of the foot 
are put together so as to form an arch, on which the 
weight of the body rests. 

The arm has one large bone, called the Humerus. 



26 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

The fore-arm has two bones ; the Ulna and Radius. The 
ulna is attached firmly to the large bone of the arm, 
while the radius is attached at the lower end to the 
bones of the wrist, and so connected w^ith the ulna as 
to revolve over it, producing what is called Pronation 
and Supination of the hand. 

The bones of the wrist are of a similar character 
as those of the back part of the foot, and the bones of 
the fingers are of the same description as those of the 
toes, with the exception of their greater length, and 
of their admitting of more motion. 

THE RIBS. 

The ribs are twelve in number: seven are what are 
called true ribs ; that is, they are fastened at both ends ; 
one end by a joint to the back-bone ; the other, by a 
gristle or cartilage to the breast-bone or Sternum. 
The other five false ribs are only fastened at one end 
to the back-bone, the other end being loose. The ribs are 
constructed so as to expand the chest laterally, much 
more than vertically ; that is, sidewise more than up 
and down. Hence the impropriety of girding the 
bosom tightly ; it prevents the due expansion of the 
lungs, and consequently the due inhalation of air. 
There are thousands in our country that are opposed 
to capital punishment who are hanging themselves 
daily ; the only difference being, that strangulation 
is effected a little higher up in the one case than in the 
other. 

The shoulder-blade or Scapula, is situated on the 
upper and backside of the chest, being held in its 
place by muscles, ligaments and the collar-bone (Cla- 
vicle), which is fastened at one end to the shoulder- 
blade, and at the other end to the breast-bone (ster- 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 27 

num). The Os Hyoides is a small bone of the shape 
of a letter v; it resembles the wish-bone of a chicken 
as near as anything I can compare it to. It is situated 
in the throat, and serves to protect the vocal organs, 
and to assist them in making sounds. 

The bones of the ear are of the most curious work- 
manship. There is a large external channel which 
goes into the internal organs of the ear. Then there is 
a chain of bones connected with the tympanum or ear- 
drum, which goes to the innermost bone of the ear, 
which is hollow and filled with a fluid, which fluid is 
compressed more or less as the tympanum or ear-drum 
is vibrated by the air ; which vibrations communicate 
a motion to the little chain of bones compressing the fluid 
in the internal bone, before described. Now this fluid 
presses on some delicate nerves spread out inside the 
innermost bone, which communicate the impression 
to the brain through the nerve called the Auditory 
nerve. This is the mechanical operation of hearing. 



LECTUEE II. 

THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 

We next come to the muscular system — the lean 
meat of the animal. 

The muscles are not made merely to cover up the 
bones and give beauty to the shape; every muscle 
is of use in giving motion. There is not a fibre of 
muscle in the whole body but what assists in giving 
motion to some part; and there is not a movement 
in any part of the body but what is produced by the 
contraction or relaxation of muscle. Walking, talk- 
ing, the motions of the eye, the mouth, face and throat 
in swallowing, laughing and the like, are all performed 
by muscles; as likewise the circulation of the blood, 
breathing, the motions of the bowels, the movements 
of the hands and arms, of the legs and feet. 

Muscles are composed of a number of strings or 
fibres — of lean flesh bound together by membrane. 
They are fastened at each end to the parts they are 
intended to move. When a muscle contracts, its sub- 
stance becomes more compact; it becomes shorter, 
swelling out in the middle, and by this shortening, 
moves the part it is attached to. This swelling of the 
muscle can be felt, by grasping the middle of the arm, 
while the fore-arm is drawn up. 

To each muscle goes a nerve, conveying the orders 
of the will from the brain to the muscle, forming a 
sort of electric telegraph through all parts of the body 

(28) 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE 29 

centering at the brain. The way motion is produced 
where and when we want it, is this : our will sends 
the order along the nerve to the muscle moving the 
part we wish to move, to contract ; it contracts, and 
the motion is produced. For instance — I wish to put 
an apple to my mouth ; my hand is directly above the 
apple. My will sends an order along the nerve going 
to the extensor muscles of the fingers ; these muscles 
contract, and my fingers open. Now I send an order 
to the muscle holding my hand up, to relax. It re- 
laxes, and my hand falls on the apple. I now want to 
shut my fingers. I send an order to the contractor 
muscles of the fingers to contract. They contract, 
and my fingers shut, grasping the apple. If you take 
a chicken's leg and pull the white cords shown when 
the leg is cut off, you can open and shut the toes in 
the same manner that I open and shut my fingers. 
Now I wish to raise my hand to my mouth and turn 
it over. I send an order to the flexor muscles of the 
fore-arm to contract. It contracts, and draws my 
hand up. At the same time, 1 send an order to the 
muscle that turns the hand to contract. It contracts, 
and turns my hand over. Thus the operation is per- 
formed in a hundredth part of the time I have spent in 
explaining it. In this manner every voluntary motion 
of our body is performed, and not only of our body, 
but of every animal, insect, fish, bird, or reptile. 
This is what enables the flea to jump, the snake to 
crawl, the elephant to walk. To describe ail the 
muscles of the body, would occupy more time than we 
have to spare. I will merely notice some of the most 
important ones. 

The face and scalp are full of muscles ; some to draw 
up the skin of the forehead ; some to move the ear in all 



30 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

directions (but few persons can use these muscles for 
moving the ear). Some muscles are to open and shut 
the jaw ; some to draw up the nose and lip ; some to 
draw up the corners of the mouth, as in laughing. 
The eyelids and mouth have each a circular muscle 
to shut them ; there are others to open them. The 
eyeball has muscles that turn it in every direc- 
tion. When one of these is too short, it draws 
the eye to one side, producing strabismus or cross- 
eye. The head is turned in every direction by 
muscles arising in the neck and attached to the lower 
part of the skull. The voice is produced by the vi- 
bration of two little cords, like violin-strings, drawn 
across a box of cartilage, which produces the promi 
nence in front of the neck, called "Adam's Apple." 
This box of cartilage is called by physicians, the 
Larynx. The vocal cords stretching across the larynx, 
are attached to small movable cartilages, which are 
moved by little muscles tightening the cords when we 
wish to make a fine sound, and loosening them, when 
we wish to make a coarse sound. Every time we alter 
the tone of our voice, these little muscles either tighten 
or loosen the vocal cords. The chest is expanded by 
muscles attached to the ribs and spine. It is drawn 
in or compressed by the contraction of the muscles of 
the abdomen or belly, which are attached to the lower 
part of the ribs at one end, and to the bones of the 
pelvis at the other. Hence the impropriety of girding 
the loins tightly. It prevents a due action of the ab- 
dominal muscles, and consequently a proper expulsion 
of air from the lungs. It is less pernicious to bind the 
region of the chest than that of the loins, because the 
abdominal muscles have as much to do with respira- 
tion as the muscles of the chest ; beside, girding the 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 31 

loins tightly, compresses the great bloodvessels more 
than girding the chest can possibly do. Swelling of 
the lower extremities is a complaint among females, 
brought on by this cause oftener than by any other. 
If you are determined then on tight-lacing, put your 
corsets up around your breast, so that you will not 
stop your breathing and the circulation of your blood 
at the same time. 

The thighs are moved in all directions by muscles 
commencing about the pelvis and the lower part of 
the back, and attached to the sides of the thigh-bone. 
In like manner, the leg is moved by muscles arising 
from the pelvis and the thigh-bone, and attached to 
the fore and back part of the bones of the leg. You 
can feel the tendons or cords of the muscles that flex 
or draw up the leg behind the knee ; they are com- 
monly called the Ham-strings. Tendons are little 
white cords fastened to the ends of muscles and going 
to the part the muscles are designed to move. 

This arrangement is a great advantage, because 
there is more room in some other parts for the situa- 
tion of muscles, than where the power of the muscle 
is required ; hence a small cord goes from the muscle 
to the part to be moved. 

The muscles that extend the leg and foot are fas- 
tened to the upper part of the knee-pan, by means of a 
stout tendon ; from the lower part of the knee-pan 
goes a strong ligament that is fastened to the front 
part of the large bone of the leg. The muscles that 
move the foot commence from the bones about the 
knee ; some are attached to the heel-bone and the 
under part of the foot and toes, to flex the foot ; 
others are attached to the upper part of the loot 
and toes, to raise the foot In persons who walk a 



great deal, and in dancers these muscles become 
largely developed. 

The arm is moved forward by muscles arising from 
the front part of the chest, and inserted into the front 
part of the bone of the arm. It is moved backward 
by muscles originating from the shoulder-blade and 
bones of the spine, and inserted into the backside of 
the bone of the arm. It is moved up or down by 
muscles whose contraction draws it in those directions. 
The fore-arm and fingers are moved by muscles in a 
similar way that the leg and toes, before described, 
are moved. 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

The nervous system has two centres from which 
nervous influence radiates. That of the Voluntary 
nerves, and that of the Involuntary nerves. The centre 
of the voluntary nerves, or the nerves over which our 
will has a control, is the Brain. The centre of the in- 
voluntary nerves, or nerves over which our will has no 
control, is the Solar Plexus — a ganglion of nerves 
lying behind the stomach along the spine. 

From the brain issue, first, the nerves of the Senses, 
to each of which belongs the peculiarity of the sense 
of which it is the instrument. 

The Auditory, or nerve of hearing, takes cognizance 
of sounds, and nothing else. It goes from the brain 
and is distributed on the lining of the little bone of the 
ear filled with fluid, as before described. The impres- 
sions of the vibrations of the air on the nerve spread 
out on this little bone, and those impressions being 
conveyed to the brain, constitute the sense of hearing. 

The Olfactory, or smelling nerve is affected by odors 
alone. It goes from the brain, and is distributed on 
the bones of the nose, which are formed so as to afford 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 33 

a large surface for the expansion of the nerve and con- 
sequently a large surface to be acted on by the air. 

The Gustatory, or nerve of taste is affected by the 
taste or sapidity of objects. It is distributed on the 
tongue. 

The Optic nerve, or nerve of sight, takes cognizance 
of light. It is spread out on the back part of the eye. 

The fifth sense is that of Touch, located mostly in the 
parts that we use in feeling, as the ends of the fingers. 

Next come from the brain the nerves that go to all 
the voluntary muscles of the body and to all the sen- 
sitive parts. These nerves convey pleasurable or 
painful sensations to the brain, and carry the orders 
of the will to the muscles. These nerves going to the 
body, come from the lower part of the brain all bound 
up together and surrounded by a sheath. This bundle 
of nerves is called the Spinal Cord ; a very different 
kind of substance from that found in the hollow of 
long bones, which is nothing but fat. Each nerve, in 
this bundle, goes to some particular part in the body. 
They issue from the spinal marrow or cord, between 
the bones of the spine. 

If you cut off the spinal cord at any particular 
place, all the parts supplied with nerves issuing below 
where you cut it off, will be paralyzed, because you 
have cut off their communication with the brain ; and 
invariably, where the nerve of a part is cut off, the 
feeling and motion of the part are destroyed. A part 
of a nerve may be destroyed, however, and the feeling 
or motion remain. The motion of a part may be de- 
stroyed without destroying the feeling, and the feeling 
of a part may be destroyed without destroying the 
motion ; because there are two parts to each of those 
nerves — a motor part and a sensitive part ; at their 



34: SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

departure from the spinal cord, these parts are sepa- 
rate, but they are joined again betore being distributed 
over the body. 

The brain, beside controlling muscular motion and 
being the seat of the will and the senses, is also the 
organ of the intellect and the passions. That a part 
or the whole of the brain exercises these functions we 
are well aware ; but that each branch of the intellect 
and of the passions has some particular part of the 
brain for its organ, we are not prepared to say ; and 
much less are we prepared to say, that each of these 
portions of the brain has a corresponding protube- 
rance of the skull, for several of these protuberances 
are produced, not by a growth of the brain, but by a 
growth of bone. 

The Involuntary or Ganglionic nervous system has 
its centre behind the stomach ; it is called the Solar 
Plexus. This system presides over the heart, lungs, 
bloodvessels, glands, capillaries, the stomach, and the 
nutrition of the whole body. The functions of the 
parts over which the ganglionic system presides, are 
such that should be entirely free from the control of 
the will. How long would life remain if we had con- 
trol over our heart, lungs, bowels, and liver ? They 
would constantly be subjected to the caprices of our 
changeable will. 

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

The Circulatory system is composed of the Heart, Ar- 
teries, Veins, Capillaries, and Absorbents. The heart 
is a muscular body, which, by its contractions, circu- 
lates the blood in the same manner that squeezing a 
bladder filled with water, will project the water with 
force. The heart is divided into four apartments. 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 35 

Each apartment is surrounded by muscle. The two 
surrounded with the weakest muscles are called the 
Auricles ; by whose contraction the blood is forced 
into the other apartments, called the Ventricles, which 
are surrounded with much more powerful muscles. 
By the contraction of the right ventricle the blood is 
forced through the lungs to be purified by coming in 
contact with the air, from which it absorbs oxygen 
and gives out in exchange carbonic acid gas. 

When the blood has passed through the lungs, it 
returns to the left auricle of the heart, whose contrac- 
tion forces it into the left ventricle. The left ventricle 
contracting, forces the blood into every part of the 
body, until the blood comes to the little tubes found in 
every structure, called the Capillaries. While the blood 
is passing through these little capillaries, just large 
enough to let a globule of blood pass at a time, the 
nutritive part of the blood is taken away from it, 
changing it from arterial, to venous blood. The nutri- 
tive portion of the blood, thus taken away, goes to the 
growth of the part. Before the bloodvessels are sub- 
divided into these capillaries they are called arteries, 
and the blood in them, arterial blood. If you cut 
one of them the blood will issue in jets, corresponding 
to each contraction of the heart. But after the blood 
enters the capillaries, it is not affected so much by the 
force of the heart, but is carried through them by the 
force called Capillary Attraction, which enables a fluid 
to rise, of itself, in a very small tube. 

After the blood has passed through the capillaries, 
it goes into the veins, into which the capillaries ter- 
minate, forming a connecting link, as they do, between 
the arteries and veins. From the small veins the 
blood is carried into the larger ones, like the water of 



36 

brooks into rivers, until the whole venous blood is col- 
lected into two large streams, one coming up from the 
lower part of the body and the other coming down 
from the head, and both emptying into the right auri- 
cle of the heart, by whose contraction it is forced into 
the right ventricle. By the contraction of the right 
ventricle the blood is forced into the lungs, from which 
it returns to the left auricle ; the left auricle contract- 
ing, the blood is forced into the left ventricle ; the left 
ventricle contracting, forces the blood through the 
general system again. This is the simple course of 
the circulation of the blood. 

From the blood are derived the growth and mainte- 
nance of the body, and all the secretions thrown off 
from the body by various channels ; such as the secre- 
tions of the kidneys or the urine, the secretions of the 
skin or the sweat, the vapory secretions of the lungs, 
the secretions of the bowels, and others which will be 
mentioned in due time. But from whence does the 
blood derive the supplies to keep up all these expendi- 
tures ? From what is taken into the stomach, and 
what is taken up in every part of the body by what 
are called the Lymphatics. 

When we take food in the stomach it is dissolved 
by a peculiar fluid called the Gastric juice, formed by 
little follicles in the stomach for that express purpose. 
When it is properly dissolved by the gastric juice, it 
is passed into the first bowel and sucked up by little 
tubes, whose mouths open into the whole course 
of the bowels. These tubes are called the Chyliferous 
vessels, because they suck up the food after it is 
changed into a milky substance, called Chyle. These 
little vessels open most numerously into the first bowel, 
called the Duodenum. When the chyle is thus taken 



AND HYGIENE. 37 

up by the little vessels, it is emptied into a main duct, 
which empties into a large vein, and is mixed with 
the blood. This is the way the food gets into the 
blood, to replenish it and to keep up the system. 

In every part of the body are little vessels called 
Lymphatics, that are constantly taking up the old, 
worn-out parts of the body and sending them into the 
blood, to be renovated again. The whole system can 
be affected by a medicine being rubbed on the skin, it 
being taken up and carried into the system by lym- 
phatics. We don't know the exact nature of the 
changes of the food into blood ; the blood into flesh, 
bone, skin, ligaments, glands, hair, nails, and the 
various secretions ; and the returning of the old mat- 
ter to be renovated again. Pro. Leibeg, a celebrated 
chemist, has attempted to explain these changes on 
purely chemical principles. The body is compared to 
a steam engine — the stomach being the furnace; the 
lungs the bellows ; the blood the water ; the heart and 
bloodvessels the boilers ; and the nerves the conduct- 
ing-pipes, which convey the steam or moving power 
to the muscles, which act as straps and wheels to keep 
the machinery of the system in operation. These 
operations are not sufficiently explained at present, 
but they will eventually be satisfactorily explained by 
the known laws of physics. 

THE GLANDULAR SYSTEM. 

A Gland is a soft, round structure for the separation 
of some peculiar fluid from the blood. The Liver and 
Kidneys are glands. You can form no idea of the 
nature of the fluid a gland secretes from its structure. 
What peculiarity there is in the structure of the liver 
to enable it to separate the bile from the blood; or 



38 SYNOPSIS OF ANATOMY, 

why it should separate the bile rather than some other 
secretion — the saliva, for instance — we cannot, from 
its structure, tell. Each secretion has its use. The 
secretion of the Salivary glands of the mouth is to 
moisten the food, and thus facilitate swallowing. It 
is probable that Nature designed no other fluid being 
taken while eating ; as we see illustrated by the feed- 
ing of the inferior animals. The cow and horse^ 
though using much dryer food than man, seldom 
drink while eating. The Bile or secretion of the. liver 
is designed to stimulate the bowels to carry off the 
refuse and superfluous portions of our food. It is the 
natural purgative of the system ; better by far, than 
all the " liver " and " antibilious " pills or " purifying 
extracts " that were ever mixed up. 

While digestion is going on and the chyliferous 
vessels are taking up what nutriment the system 
requires, the bile accumulates in the Gall-bladder ; for 
the opening of the gall-duct, which conveys the bile 
from the gall-bladder into the bowel, is so constructed 
as to prevent the bile flowing out while the first 
bowel, where the chyliferous vessels mostly open, is 
full. But after the bowel becomes partially empty 
from the absorption of chyle, then the mouth of the 
gall-duct opens ; the bile runs into the bowel and 
stimulates it to carry off the useless matter. The 
manner of the bile being poured into the bowel, shows 
the impropriety of eating at too short intervals, thus 
keeping the bowel continually full, and keeping the 
mouth of the gall-duct pressed shut. 

The Kidneys are to prevent a too great accumula- 
tion of fluid in the system, as we are continually using 
more fluid than the system requires. The kidneys 
also separate and carry off improper substances that 



AND HYGIENE. 39 

get into the blood. The secretion of the kidneys is 
called the Urine. After it is separated from the blood, 
it is carried from the kidneys by two ducts, called the 
Ureters, into the bladder. It is carried from the blad- 
der by a duct, called the Urethra. 

The Skin also separates and carries off the watery 
part of the blood. It is filled with little tubes, called 
Perspiratory Ducts, for this purpose, connecting with 
the bloodvessels at one end, and opening externally on 
the skin. The principal function of the skin, beside 
carrying off the effete matters and superabundant 
fluids of the blood, is to maintain an equable tempe- 
rature of the body, by the evaporation of the sweat or 
perspiration from the surface. When fluids evaporate, 
they carry off a certain amount of heat. In this way 
the evaporation of the sweat from the skin carries off 
the excess of heat of the body. If it were not for this 
wise provision, the body would melt down, in hot 
weather. 

This effect of evaporation is illustrated by boil- 
ing water in a kettle. You cannot melt the kettle 
so long as there is water in it, for the changing of the 
water into steam carries off one thousand degrees of 
heat, which, if retained in the kettle, would soon melt 
it. It is this power of sweating to keep down the 
heat of the body, that enables men to remain in a hot 
oven until a piece of meat is roasted. If they did not 
keep down the temperature by evaporation, they 
would roast as soon as the meat. The reason of our 
drinking so much in the summer is to afford fluid for 
evaporation. The necessity of keeping the skin clean, 
so that the pores may exhale this fluid, is apparent. 
The exhilaration one feels after washing his body 
proves this. 
18 



40 

You observe that where the skin passes from the 
outer to the inner part of the lip, it changes in its 
nature. This inner skin is called Mucous Membrane. 
It lines the mouth, throat, stomach, and all the bowels, 
the windpipe, the air tubes and cells of the lungs, the 
urinary and uterine systems, the nose, and eyelids. 

Mucous membrane secretes a soft fluid, called 
Mucus, which protects the membrane and facilitates 
the passage of the various substances over it, 

SEROUS MEMBRANES. 

These are membranes of a different structure and 
for a different purpose. The lungs, heart, bowels, 
womb, liver, spleen, kidneys, and brain have a cover- 
ing of Serous membrane. It is generally shaped like 
a sack, one side of which is attached to the organ that 
it covers, and the other side to the walls of the cavity 
that the organ is in. They serve also to separate the 
different organs from one another. Serous membrane 
exists also in the joints, in the shape of a shut sack. 
This membrane secretes a watery fluid, called Serum, 
designed to facilitate the motion of the parts with 
which it is connected. 

THE HAIR. 

The Hair grows from a capsule at its roots. It is 
barbed like wheat, so as to make it lie in one direc- 
tion. Its use is to protect the part it covers, as on the 
head, and to prevent chafing, as under the arms. The 
exact use of the beard has not been decided upon. By 
civilized nations generally, it seems to be considered of 
no use, as it is kept shaved off. Perhaps its principal 
design might have been to distinguish the sexes, which 
has been rendered unnecessary heretofore by difference 
in dress. 



PHYSIOLOGY, AND HYGIENE. 41 

THE NAILS. 

The Nails grow very much in the same way as the 
cuticle. They are designed as a protection to the ends 
of the fingers and toes, and to render the sense of touch 
more acute. 

We have given now a general description of the 
different tissues and organs that constitute the human 
body in a normal or healthy condition. 



LECTURE III. 

TREATMENT OF DISEASE. 

Next we shall treat of the unhealthy conditions of 
the body, and of the different tissues and organs as 
affected by disease ; and of the best treatment to cure 
these diseased conditions. 

FEVER. 

Fever seems first to claim our attention, inasmuch 
as it is a cause, or accompanying symptom, or a con- 
sequence of most every diseased action. Fever is that 
condition of the system in which there is an increased 
circulation of the blood with increased heat and dimin- 
ished action of the secreting organs. The feeling of 
the skin is generally sufficient to detect fever. There 
is an indescribable sensation of pungent heat expe- 
rienced by the healthy skin coming in contact with a 
fevered part, that cannot be mistaken. The other 
symptoms accompanying fever generally, are a sense 
of weariness, loss of appetite, thirst, restlessness, 
headache, dryness of the tongue, costiveness, want of 
sleep or disturbed with dreaming. 

Fever first affects the nervous system, producing 
bad sensations, then the secreting system, preventing 
the separation of those fluids from the blood, which 
ought to be thrown off from the body by the liver, 
kidneys, bowels, skin, and lungs. It next affects the 
circulating system ; the heart beats faster and harder, 
( 42) 



FEVER. 43 

f 

until general fever becomes established. If the fever 
is not checked, congestion and inflammation of some 
vital organ takes place — some master-wheel of the 
machine becomes destroyed — without whose action 
the operations of life cannot go oi£, or the whole sys- 
tem becomes prostrated and vitality is extinguished in 
every part. 

Nearly all the ordinary cases of fever might be 
warded off, as well as not, by the simplest means, if 
used in the first or forming stage. When you have the 
unpleasant feelings described as those ushering in fever, 
don't go and take more stimulating food and drinks 
to rouse your weary spirits ; if you do, you will be but 
fanning the slumbering sparks of fever into a flame ; 
but rather lessen your amount of food ; for a few 
meals take nothing but the simplest articles of diet, 
such as thin corn-meal gruel, or rice-water. If you 
have been confined too closely within doors, take more 
exercise in the open air. If you have worked too hard 
with your head or hands, ease up a little, give your- 
self rest. Dismiss care from your mind ; and be sure 
and give yourself a good scrubbing from head to foot, 
with water and a coarse towel. If your bowels are 
costive, take a brisk catharjbic, Salts, or Oil, or Senna. 
If your skin is yellow, and you have a bitter taste in 
your mouth, and your urine is high-colored, take ten 
grains of Calomel just before going to bed, and work 
it off in the morning with a dose of Salts. If the 
skin, hands, and feet are cold, and you are subject to 
chills creeping over you, give yourself a good steam- 
ing, which can be done by putting a blanket around 
you and sitting over a basin of hot water, into which 
an assistant will hold, by means of a pair of tongs, hot 
bricks or flat-irons, letting them into the water so as 



44 FEVER. 

to produce as much steam as you can bear. By these 
simple means you can ward off an ordinary attack of 
fever. But, if you neglect using these means until the 
fever fairly sets in — until the skin, liver, bowels, and 
kidneys have stopped secreting their fluids — until you 
are hot and dry — " burning up with a fever" — as the 
phrase is, then you must resort to more energetic 
means. If there be a weight and sickness at the 
stomach, as though some indigestible substance were 
there, take an emetic. Twenty grains of Ipecac, with 
two grains of Tartar-emetic ; to be followed, when 
vomiting commences, with copious draughts of warm 
water until the stomach is thoroughly evacuated. 
After the vomiting is over, put the same quantity of 
ipecac, and tartar-emetic in a pint of warm water, and 
use a tablespoonful every half hour, or hour, just often 
enough to keep slightly nauseated ; at the same time 
using from two to four grains (according to the 
strength of constitution or violence of the fever) of 
Calomel every two or three hours, until it operates 
freely on the bowels. 

If the bowels are not operated upon after six or 
eight doses have been taken, take a large dose of 
Epsom-salts, or Castor-oil, or Senna. About two table- 
spoonsful of either will probably be sufficient. The 
spoonsful of senna should be heaped up. After the 
senna is steeped, it can be rendered more palatable by 
the addition of sugar and milk. The forehead and 
face should be kept constantly wet with cold water, 
which can be done by keeping one thickness of thin 
muslin, wet, lying over it all the time. If a cloth, 
about the size of a pillow-slip, be kept wet with warm 
water and laid over the breast and bowels, it will favor 
sweating greatly. Cold water in any quantity, and 



FEVER. 45 

that acidulated with lemons, or vinegar, or tartaric 
acid, if it is more agreeable, can be allowed. 

No food should be taken while there is a high fever, 
unless it should be some thin, corn-meal gruel. If 
the fever gives way, and you then break out in a sweat, 
and the pulse becomes softer, it is not necessary to 
continue the use of the tartar-emetic and ipecac, longer ; 
the use of which is designed to reduce the heart's 
action, and to overcome the heat and dryness of the 
skin: when this is accomplished it is unnecessary to 
continue the remedy longer. If the fever returns, 
resume the same treatment again until you have sub- 
dued it. If the person be strong and full of blood, 
and the above treatment does not subdue the fever in 
the course of twenty-four or thirty -six hours, he should 
be bled from the arm in a sitting posture, until faint- 
ing or until a pint of blood has been taken. If there 
be much tendency of blood to the brain, or pain in 
the head, cupping on the back of the neck will greatly 
relieve it. Cupping can be performed with a common 
thin tumbler and a sharp razor. Set fire to a small 
piece of paper, throw it in the tumbler, and clap the 
tumbler over the part to be cupped. When it has 
drawn five or ten minutes, take it off, and make a few 
gashes with the razor ; clap the tumbler on again and 
let it draw as long as it will. 

If, after ail these means have been used, there still 
remains a feverishness, take twenty grains of Dover 
powders, or enough to make you sleep, when you will 
probably break out in a profuse sweat. If there be 
oppression in the chest or under the ribs, or in the 
bowels, keep cloths wrung out of hot water over the 
part. If the oppression continues for twenty-four or 
forty-eight hours, indicating congestion in some inter- 



46 FEVER. 

nal organ and threatening inflammation, or if inflam- 
mation has already commenced, more violent external 
applications must be used — a mustard plaster or a blis- 
ter, and a large one, covering a space larger than you 
suppose the internal surface to be that is inflamed. If 
inflammation of the brain is threatened shave the 
hack part of the head, and put a blister on, letting it 
extend down along the spine, being careful to keep the 
forehead constantly wet with cold water. 

There are different kinds of fever. The Intermittent 
fever, the Remittent fever, and the Continued fever, 
according as there is a complete intermission of the 
fever at regular times, or an abatement of it, without 
a complete intermission, or a continuance of the fever 
without any abatement. Then there is the Bilious 
fever, where the liver does not perform its functions 
properly. The Inflammatory fever, where some im- 
portant organ is inflamed. The Eruptive fever, where 
there is an extensive eruption on the skin. 

Fevers are of different grades also ; the high, active 
form of fever, called Synochal, and the low form of 
fever, called Typhus fever. The Intermittent fever, 
commonly called Fever and Ague, comes on regularly 
every day, or every other day, or every third day, or 
even at longer intervals. It commences with a chill, 
caused by the blood leaving the extremities and sur- 
face of the body and rushing to the internal organs ; 
this chill is succeeded by a fever, caused by a re-action, 
which drives the blood to the surface again with in- 
creased force. The fever or hot stage, is succeeded by 
the sweating stage ; after which the circulation seems 
to be restored to a healthy action. 

The intermittent and bilious fevers, and remittent 
fevers, are generally caused by a poison in the atmo- 



FEVER. 47 

sphere, called Marsh Miasm, that is generated by 
stagnant water or decaying vegetable matter. This is 
the reason of its great prevalence in new countries, 
where the water-courses are obstructed and the forests 
are full of decayed leaves and timber. 

There are many means by which the periodical 
return of the intermittent fever or fever and ague, 
chill-fever, dumb-ague, ague in the face, sun-pain 
(all of which proceed from the same cause) can be 
stopped ; and if the person is careful, as regards exer- 
cise, diet, and exposure to wet or cold, he may remain 
exempt from the disease ; but so long as one remains 
in a miasmatic district, and more especially with irre- 
gular habits, there will be a liability to a return of 
these periodical complaints. 

A very good way to shorten the immediate attack 
of intermittent fever is to use the steam bath in the 
cold stage, until sweating is produced, using, at the 
same time, nauseating doses of Ipecac, or Tartar-eme- 
tic. After the sweating stage is over, commence using 
two grains of Quinine and four of Blue-mass every two 
hours, until eight doses are taken ; eating nothing but 
the lightest kind of food, such as gruel, rice-water, or 
weak chicken-broth. After the ague is stopped, it will 
be necessary to eat lightly and work lightly until the 
body has regained its healthful vigor. A tea made 
of some tonic bitter, such as Wild Cherry-tree bark, 
Quassia, or Peruvian bark, would be very useful, 
taken every morning before breakfast. 

Remittent fever, or that where there is a slight 
abatement of the fever, generally toward morning, 
should be treated in the same manner as laid down 
for the treatment of simple fever. After the fever has 
been broken up by this treatment, Quinine should be 
19 



48 CONTINUED FEVEK — TYPHUS FEVER. 

taken in doses of about two grains, every two hours, 
until eight doses are taken. 

Continued fever should be treated in the same man- 
ner as described for simple fever, also ; perhaps a little 
more energetically, if necessary, until the fever is 
subdued ; and after it is subdued, if it be in a fever 
and ague district, use a few doses of Quinine to pre- 
vent a return of the fever. 

Typhus fever is marked by an early prostration of 
the powers of life, a wandering of the mind, a dryness 
and brownness of the tongue, a stoppage of the secre- 
tions, involuntary discharges from the bowels and 
bladder, and generally an implication of some vital 
organ, as the brain, lungs, liver, or bowels. In the 
treatment of typhus fever, if bleeding be necessary at 
all, it is at the commencement of the disease, and that 
by means of cups over the part most oppressed. Then 
you want to introduce the mercurial influence into the 
system as speedily as possible ; by which means you 
expect to restore the different parts of the system to a 
natural and healthy action. Mercury is the sheet- 
anchor of hope. If you can affect the system by 
Mercury there are strong hopes of recovery. If you 
cannot do this, it is reasonable to suppose the case is 
dangerous. 

In my experience there is nothing that gives so 
much satisfaction in restoring the natural secretions 
as Mercury; it seems to act directly on the skin, 
bowels, kidneys, and more especially on the liver. 
You must keep constantly in mind that an action on 
these vital organs is the desideratum in the treatment 
not only of typhus fever, but of every other disease 
where these organs are in an inactive condition. Give 
then, two grains of Calomel (Calomel is a preparation 



TYPHUS FEVEB. 49 

of Mercury), every two hours, until the skin softens 
and is inclined to become moist ; until the discharges 
from the bowels become mor£ healthy • that is, more 
yellow and of a natural consistence, and until the 
tongue loses its dryness and becomes moist and soft. 
When Mercury has accomplished this, it has done all 
the good it can, and requires to be used no longer, or 
else salivation will ensue, which is to be avoided if 
possible. 

If there be not much irritability of the stomach, 
that is, much nausea or vomiting, combine the two 
grains of Calomel with half a grain or a grain of Ipecac, 
according as the stomach will bear it. If there be a 
looseness or running off at the bowels, combine each 
dose of Calomel with two grains of Dover Powder. If 
there be obstinate vomiting, put some hot cloths or a 
mustard plaster over the stomach ; if this does not 
stop it, combine the Calomel with an eighth part of a 
grain of Morphia, until the vomiting stops. As long 
as the head is hot and feverish, it should be kept wet 
with cold water. If any of the internal organs be- 
come congested or inflamed, a blister must be put 
over the part. Cold water is the best drink, and it 
can be freely used. If a cloth be kept wet with warm 
water over the breast and bowels, it will have a ten- 
dency to prevent internal congestion, and will favor 
sweating. 

If nourishment is desired at all during the active 
stage of typhus fever, or when a favorable crisis has 
taken place, the lightest kind of nourishment only, 
should be used, such as corn-meal gruel or rice-water, 
or thin chicken-broth. When the system sinks very 
low, stimulants may be used, although 1 must confess, 
I never saw much advantage from their use in typhus 



50 TYPHOID FEVER. 

fever. Hot, highly-seasoned chicken or beef-broth 
combines nourishment with stimulus, and probably is 
the best that can be used in such cases, given in small 
quantity every four or five hours. In very low cases, 
Brandy toddy or "Wine may be used as necessity re- 
quires. Cloths wrung out of hot camphor and laid 
over the body and limbs, is a good way of applying 
stimulus. When there is a difficulty of introducing 
nourishment and stimulus by the mouth, it can be in- 
troduced in an injection. Rubbing the limbs with 
salt and water, by means of a coarse towel, either in 
the first or last stages of the disease, is a very useful 
means. If a diarrhea sets in during the latter stages of 
the disease, it must be checked. This can generally 
be done by keeping flannels wrung out of hot camphor, 
over the bowels, and by giving four grains of Dover 
Powder, four grains of Mercury and Chalk, and two 
grains of Tannin every four hours, until the diarrhea 
is checked. During the course of this fever, great care 
must be observed in the use of purgatives, for, some- 
times three or four large discharges from the bowels will 
carry off the patient. When it becomes necessary to 
move the bowels, it had better be done by injections. 

During convalescence from this disease, one cannot 
be too careful in regard to diet, and exertion, and ex- 
posure. The lightest diet, the lightest exercise, and 
the least exposure is urgently indicated. Some bitters 
made of Peruvian bark and port wine, used in small 
quantities, is often of much benefit in giving tone to 
the system. 

TYPHOID FEVER. 

This is a grade of fever between an active synochal 
fever and a typhus fever ; its treatment resembles that 
laid down for typhus in the main. Changes must be 



YELLOW FEVEK. 51 

made as symptoms occur. If there be a high, active 
fever, the system must be reduced ; if there be pros- 
tration, stimulants must be used; if internal conges- 
tions, counter-irritating applications to the surface, as 
cloths wrung out of hot water, mustard plasters or 
blisters. 

YELLOW FEVER. 

The Yellow fever is the most aggravated form of re- 
mittent ; sometimes carrying off its victims in twenty- 
four hours. It is characterized by a most violent fever 
at first ; a yellowness of the skin ; a vomiting of yel- 
lowish matter, and a great derangement of the ner- 
vous system. After these symptoms come great pros- 
tration of the whole system, and a vomiting of black 
matter, like coffee-grounds. There is no certain me- 
thod for the cure of this disease; it too frequently 
baffles the skill of the most intelligent physicians. 
The only course that can be taken, is to treat the 
symptoms as they arise, depleting where the action is 
too high, and stimulating where there is prostration. 
The first may be accomplished by cupping over the 
region of the stomach, by small mercurial cathartics 
(four grs. Calomel every three hours), and by sponging 
the surface. The latter, by rubbing the surface with 
Mustard and Brandy, and introducing what stimulus, 
internally, that will be retained. A new treatment 
has been recommended by some physicians, who say 
they have tried it with good success ; it is to use sa- 
line medicines, such as the muriate of ammonia, the 
salts of magnesia, common salt and the like. 

We next come to the Eruptive fevers, or those ac- 
companied with an eruption on the surface. 



62 SCARLET FEVER — MEASLES. 

SCARLET FEVER. 

Scarlet fever is so called, from the peculiar scarlet 
appearance of the skin in this complaint. It is con- 
tagious ; the fever is ushered in by chilly sensations, 
weakness, headache, pains in the limbs, and the 
symptoms generally that usher in an ordinary fever. 
The eruptions appear two days after the fever. In its 
treatment, the object is to keep the system in as fa- 
vorable a condition as possible, so that the fever does 
not get too violent. Sponge the face and head, if 
there is too great tendency of blood to the brain ; if 
the bowels are costive, open them gently with Salts or 
Senna. If there is a want of action of the liver, give 
a dose of Calomel — fifteen grains to a grown person, 
eighteen years old or upward. Half this dose to a 
youth half this age, and half the dose for a youth, to a 
child half the youth's age, and half the dose for a 
child, to an infant half the age of the child. This is 
a good rule to go by, in administering medicines to 
persons of different ages — dividing the dose as the 
age corresponds with the age of an adult (which may 
be considered eighteen years). If the throat is sore, 
gargle it frequently with a strong solution of alum. 
Spirits of Mendereri may be given; a teaspoonful 
every hour, to keep the skin moist. This can be 
made by putting carbonate of ammonia in vinegar, so 
long as the vinegar will effervesce. 

MEASLES. 

Measles commence like a common cold. On the 
fourth day, the eruption appears, which is distin- 
guished from the eruption of scarlet fever, by its being 
of a darker color, and coming more in separate spots, 
than in scarlet fever. The nose, eyes, and lungs are 



MEASLES. 



53 



generally affected. And here, I will speak of a prin- 
ciple that holds true in irritation or inflammation in 
any particular structure. When irritation or inflam- 
mation exists in any particular structure of the body, 
it is more likely to extend along that structure than 
along another structure, although the other structure 
lies next to it. And if irritation or inflammation 
leaves one part of the body, and goes to another part, 
it is more likely to fall on a structure similar to the 
one it first existed in. For instance, in an irritation 
or inflammation of the mucous membrane of the in- 
testinal canal, which extends from the mouth down- 
ward, it is apt to go along the whole length of the 
bowels ; and wherever this mucous membrane extends. 
Mucous membrane lines the throat, windpipe, and all 
the bronchial tubes or divisions of the windpipe, 
which communicate with the air-cells of the lungs. 
Mucous membrane lines the nose, and a small duct 
opening into the nose, which conveys the tears from 
the eyes. The eyeball is covered with a mucous mem- 
brane, called the Conjunctiva, which also lines the 
eyelids. Now the extension of the irritation along the 
mucous membrane into the nose, eyes, and lungs, is 
the cause of all these being affected in measles. 

The object in the treatment of this, as in the fore- 
going disease, is, to keep the arterial action or fever, 
from getting too high. Give an emetic of Ipecac, at 
first, to be followed by a dose of Salts ; then give half- 
a grain of Ipecac, and a teaspoonful of the spirits of 
Mendereri every two or three hours, until the active 
stage of the disease is over. When there is much op- 
pression of the lungs, cupping maybe practiced in the 
first stage of the disease; or the use of mustard plas- 
ters or blisters in the latter stage. 



54 SMALL POX. 

SMALL POX. 

Small Pox is an eruptive fever, ushered in by the 
same symptoms as other fevers, the eruption appear- 
ing on the fourth day. On the eighth day the suppu- 
ration is complete, and on the tenth or eleventh the 
sores break and begin to dry up. Its treatment is 
very simple. 

Keep the room cool and shaded. Let the patient 
use as a drink cold water, in which is dissolved 
cream of tartar. Use, every three or four hours, 
six or eight drops of the Diluted Sulphuric acid, 
which is formed by mixing one part of sulphuric 
acid with thirteen of water. At the onset of the dis- 
ease it is best to give a Mercurial Cathartic — say ten 
grains of Calomel and ten of Jalap. If the fever is too 
violent blood must be taken. Let the diet be very 
light. The room must be well aired. If sinking 
occurs, as often is the case in what is called the con- 
fluent or malignant variety, where all the sores run 
together and form one continuous sore over a great 
part of the body, stimulants must be used to support 
the powers of life. Where an excessive diarrhea 
occurs in this malignant variety, it must be checked ; 
which can be done, probably, by the use of small 
doses of opium. 

Some physicians are in the habit of opening the 
pustules on the face, before they burst, and putting in 
a little lint dipped in some mild ointment to prevent, 
in a measure, the formation of what are called " pock 
marks." The system may be protected against the 
small pox by Inoculation and by Vaccination. The 
former is the application of small pox matter to the 
cut or scratched skin, by means of which it is absorbed, 
and excites a very mild form of the disease ; and once 



CHICKEN POX. 55 

having the disease, as is the case with the measles 
and scarlet fever, exempts one from having it again. 
Yaccination is the application to the scratched skin 
of the matter from a cow that has had the small pox, 
which excites a still milder form of the disease and 
still protects the system from the small pox. Vacci- 
nation is generally practiced with matter or the scab 
from another person that has been vaccinated. Dis- 
solve a small portion of the scab in a drop of water, 
then scratch the skin on the arm with a sharp instru- 
ment until you start the blood, put the matter on, and 
then put a wet wafer over it and a rag around the arm, 
and let it be until it takes, which will be in from three 
to five days. 

I consider vaccination a sure preventative of the 
small pox. I have tested it in my own case. I was 
vaccinated when I was five years old, and have since 
been exposed to small pox in its most virulent form 
without taking it. Sometimes persons who have been 
vaccinated take a slight eruption on being exposed to 
small pox, called Yarioloid, which is not a serious 
disease. 

CHICKEN POX. 

Chicken Pox has some of the symptoms of small 
pox, though much milder. In ordinary cases nothing 
is necessary to be done but to keep the bowels open, 
give cooling drinks, use light diet, and keep the room 
well aired. 

There is another kind of eruptive fever called Miliary 
fever. After the fever has existed three or four days, 
the body breaks out in a kind of a rash or little red 
pimples, gradually extending over the extremities and 
abdomen. 



56 TREATMENT OF MILIARY FEVER. 

Treatment. — Keep the bowels open by mild cathar- 
tics. Use cooling drinks. If there be much fever, 
keep up a slight nausea by means of small doses of 
Ipecac. If sinking occurs, give tonic, stimulating 
remedies, such as Quinine and Wine. 



LECTURE IV. 

f 

INFLAMMATION 

The next subject we shall treat of is Inflammation. 
No word, literally, can better express this morbid con- 
dition than the one that is applied to it — inflamma- 
tion — for the word is derived from the Latin verb, 
infiammOy which means, to burn. For inflammation 
is really a burning and destruction of the part in 
which it exists. Inflammation is characterized by 
increased heat and redness in the part, attended with 
pain and swelling. The redness, and heat, and swell- 
ing are produced by too great a quantity of blood in 
the part. It is an established principle of medicine, 
that, wherever there is irritation there is an increased 
flow of blood. The pain is produced by the pressure 
of the enlarged bloodvessels on the nerves. 

Inflammation may terminate by a return of the part 
to its natural condition, without any alteration of its 
structure ; this is called a termination by Resolution, 
and is the most favorable termination. It may ter- 
minate by the formation of matter called Pus. This 
is called a termination by Suppuration. It may ter- 
minate by an absorption or eating away of the part, 
forming an ulcer. This is called a termination by 
Ulceration. And lastly, it may terminate by a com- 
plete destruction, or death, of the part. This is called 
a termination by Mortification. Where parts, cut by 
a sharp instrument, unite by being glued together 

(57> 



58 i INFLAMMATION. 

with an adhesive fluid thrown out for the purpose in 
all such cases, the slight inflammation accruing, which 
is necessary for the healing of the part, is called 
Adhesive inflammation. 

Inflammation is of two kinds, Acute and Chronic. 
Acute, when it is violent and apt to excite fever in 
the general system. Chronic, when it is slow and has 
existed for a long time, the symptoms not being so 
violent as in acute inflammation. The treatment of 
inflammation in anj organ, is General and Local. 
General, by keeping the whole body in a proper con- ' 
dition; which is done by the use of the common 
reducing means, used as circumstances require ; such 
as blood-letting by the lancet or cups, nauseants, the 
warm-bath, cathartics, light diet and sedatives. The 
Local treatment is, when the inflammation first occurs, 
and there is a probability of being able to drive it 
away without the formation of matter, to apply some- 
thing that will excite the enlarged bloodvessels to con- 
tract and force out the accumulated and stagnant 
fluids. The means to be used are compression with a 
tight bandage ; very cold or very hot applications, as 
ice-water, the shower-bath, flannels wrung out of hot 
water; stimulating applications, such as turpentine, 
the various stimulating liniments, mustard, hartshorn 
confined to the part, or a blister of Spanish Flies, or 
of the common potato flies ; astringent applications, 
such as a solution of the sugar of lead or alum, or a 
strong decoction of oak bark or nut-galls. If you 
cannot drive away or " scatter," the swelling by these 
means, which you can ascertain in the course of from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and the formation of 
matter is certain, you must then use means to promote 
the formation of matter — to " bring the swelling to 



THE SKIN — ITS DISEASES 59 

a head." A poultice will accomplish it better than 
any other means. As good a way to make a poultice as 
any, is to cut a slice of light bread, take the crust off, 
lay the bread on a plate, and then saturate it with 
warm water. Lay the slice thus prepared on the 
affected part, and keep it moist and warm until the 
matter is collected sufficiently to be discharged. We 
will commence now with the inflammations of the 
several structures of the body. 

THE SKIN. 

The Skin is composed of three coats. The outer 
coat, called the Cuticle, a transparent covering with- 
out color or feeling, designed as a protection to the 
coats beneath ; it is the coat that is raised up in blis- 
ters. The middle coat, called the Rete-mucosum or 
Mucous Net-work, is a very delicate membrane, with 
difficulty separated from the other coats. It is the seat 
of the coloring-matter of the skin ; it is the color of 
the rete-mucosum that distinguishes the sooty Ethio- 
pian from the fair Circassian, so that beauty does not 
in reality lie even skin deep, as is generally supposed, 
but only half skin deep. The third, or inner coat of 
the skin, is the one in which is situated the bloodves- 
sels, nerves, absorbents, and exhalants of the skin. 
This third coat, called the Cutis Vera, or true skin, is 
the seat of inflammation. 

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

Erysipelas is an inflammation of the skin. In this 
disease a shining redness is diffused continuously over 
the skin, attended with a burning, itching pain. It 
commences on all parts of the body, sometimes on the 



60 ERYSIPELAS. 

arms or legs, and sometimes on the body or face. It 
extends with great rapidity, often commencing at one 
point on the face and extending over the entire face 
and scalp during twenty-four hours. When it is on 
the face, the eyelids are apt to become shut by the 
swelling. When it occurs on the scalp, the brain is 
very apt to become affected. It is generally produced 
by derangement of the bowels or of the system gene- 
rally — from " bad blood," as the common expression 
is. The least scratch will serve for a starting-point, 
when the system is in the proper condition for the 
reception of the disease. Sometimes the atmosphere 
seems to be impregnated with some sort of poison that 
favors its extension, causing it to assume an epidemic 
form. 

Its treatment consists, first, in purging out the 
bowels with a mercurial cathartic; ten grains of Calo- 
lomel and ten grains of Jalap. If this does not operate 
in eight hours, repeat the dose, until a brisk operation 
is produced. At the same time, apply over the part a 
strong solution of Lunar Caustic, ten grains to the 
ounce of water. Draw a stick of the Lunar Caustic, 
moistened, around the inflamed part; it will some- 
times prevent the erysipelas going over it. A narrow 
strip of Blister-plaster put round will have the same 
effect to prevent its extension. Where there is much 
arterial excitement, and the person is fall of blood, it 
would be well to draw some blood. Where the ery- 
sipelas is changing about from one place to another, 
and the head seems to be affected, there is danger of 
its going to the brain, and a Mustard-plaster or Blister 
had better be put between the shoulders to concentrate 
the irritation there. 



BOILS — RINGWORM — ITCH — ULCERS. 61 

BOILS. 

Boils are situated in and under the skin ; they can 
sometimes be driven away before matter forms, by 
cutting them open and letting out the blood, and then 
applying compression and cold over the part. Or they 
can be driven away by some stimulating application, 
as a Mustard-plaster, Spirits of Ammonia, or a Blis- 
ter; but where matter is forming or has already 
formed, which is apt to be the case after forty-eight 
hours, a bread-and-milk poultice had best be used. 

TETTER, OR RINGWORM. 

Tetter, or Ringworm, can be cured by washing 
with a solution of Corrosive Sublimate. 

ITCH. 

The Itch, which is caused by little vermin, like lice, 
too small to be seen with the naked eye, can be cured 
by anointing with Sulphur and Lard a few times, and 
then washing the entire body with soap and water, 
and putting on clean clothes. Red or Blue Precipitate 
ointment will also cure the itch. 

ULCERS, OR SORES. 

Ulcers on the legs, commonly called Fever-sores, 
should be treated by bandaging the leg from the toes 
upward, using an ointment made of Jamestown-weed, 
lard and tallow, and Mercurial ointment. If there be 
much pain, put a little Sugar of Lead and Opium with 
the ointment. The patient should keep still and use 
light diet. If there be much heat and fever in the 
leg, keep the bandages wet with water. Use inter- 
nally two tablespoonful of the following syrup, three 
times a day : Make a strong tea of Sarsaparilla, using 



62 SHINGLES — SCALD-HEAD — CORNS — WARTS. 

about two quarts of water with as much Sarsaparilla 
as it will cover, and boiling it down to a pint. Dis- 
solve in this, half a dram of the Hydriodate of Potassa, 
and use as directed above. The Sulphur-bath is very 
efficacious in the cure of cutaneous eruptions. A 
Sulphur-bath can be given by putting the person in a 
box with a close door. In the top of the box have a 
hole, large enough to put the head through, around 
which is fastened a collar of oiled-silk with a draw- 
string to prevent the gas strangling the subject. The 
gas can be let in at the bottom by means of a tube 
attached to a tight vessel, into which is put about a 
tablespoonful of Sulphur, and set on fire. 

SHINGLES. 

There is a very common eruption of vesicles that 
encircle the waist, like a girdle, called " Shingles," 
which can generally be cured by using a brisk Cathar- 
tic and washing the part with some astringent wash, 
as a solution of Sugar of Lead or Alum. 

SCALD-HEAD. 

In Scald-head the hair should be closely cut off and 
the scalp washed every morning with soap and water, 
after which an ointment of Mercurial Ointment and 
Sugar of Lead should be applied. 

CORNS. 

Corns are morbid growths of the skin pressing on 
the extremity of a nerve, caused by too great pressure 
on the parts, as by the use of tight boots. They will 
generally get well themselves by wearing large boots. 
They can be cured by paring them down to the quick, 
and then putting on a drop of Sulphuric Acid. 

Warts can be cured in the same way. 



CHILBLAINS — THE EYE. 63 

CHILBLAINS. 

Chilblains are caused generally by the parts being 
frozen ; they are characterized by an intense itching. 
They may be cured 3 at first, by rubbing them with 
turpentine or some stimulating liniment. If they 
break and form an ulcer, use a stimulating ointment 
such as the Citrine Ointment. 

THE EYE. 

The Eye is composed of three distinct coats or lay- 
ers. The outer coat is composed of the Sclerotica and 
Cornea; the middle, of the Choroid coat, the Iris, and 
Ciliary processes ; and the inner coat, of the Ketina 
and Zonula Ciliaris. The outer coat is hard and re- 
sisting to give strength to the eyeball. The front part, 
the Cornea, is transparent and shaped like a watch- 
crystal. It is inserted into the Sclerotic coat in pre- 
cisely the same manner that a watch-crystal is inserted 
into its rim. It would seem as though the watch- 
maker bad got the idea of the crystal from the eye. 

The next coat of the eye is the Choroid and Iris. 
The Choroid is a thin-colored membrane, the outer 
side of a chocolate color, the inside of a deep black. 
The design of this dark color, is to absorb the surplus 
rays of light, otherwise we would be dazzled and con- 
fused by a strong light. In Albinoes, this color is 
wanting, which renders them incapable of seeing, ex- 
cept at twilight or by moonlight. The Iris — meaning 
rainbow, is so called, from its variety of colors in dif- 
ferent individuals. It serves as a curtain to divide the 
front and back chambers of the eye. It has a round 
hole in the centre, called the Pupil, through which 
the rays of light pass, through which we see. The 
iris is composed of two sets of muscular fibres, one 
20 



64 THE EYE. 

set radiating from the centre to the circumference, by 
whose contraction the pupil is dilated, and a set of 
circular fibres, by whose contraction the pupil is con- 
tracted. A strong light excites the circular fibres 
to contraction, so that not so much light is admitted 
into the eye. A weak light excites the radiating 
fibres to contraction, so that more light may be admitted 
into the eye. The iris has also another thin layer 
back of the fibrous or muscular layers, of a purple 
color, called the Uvea. The third tunic of the eye is 
called the Eetina. It is merely an expansion of the 
optic nerve, which enters into the ball of the eye 
from behind, and is spread over about three-quarters 
of the inner, back part of the eye. This coat is the 
seat of our sight. On this, the light forms a picture 
of the object we see, and the impression is carried to 
the brain along the optic nerve, which goes to the 
brain. Behind the iris is a transparent, crystalline 
body, called the Lens, the use of which, is to concen- 
trate the rays of light, so as to form a picture small 
enough for the size of the Retina. Before this lens, 
filling what are called the Anterior and Posterior 
chambers of the eye, which are separated by the iris, 
is a thin, transparent humor, called the Aqueous hu- 
mor. Behind the lens, filling the main part of the 
cavity of the eyeball, is what is called the Yitreous 
humor; there is a delicate, transparent membrane, 
going all through this vitreous humor, dividing 
it into cells. The eye is supplied with nerves 
and bloodvessels, as is every other organ of the body. 
The appendages of the eye are the eyebrows, the 
eyelids, the Tarsal cartilages, the Meibomian glands, 
the eyelashes, the muscles, the lachrymal gland ducts, 
sack, and nasal duct. The eyebrows and eyelids have 



DISEASES OF TFIE EYE. 65 

muscles that move them, opening and shutting the 
eyes. The eyebrows are designed to shade the sight, 
and turn the perspiration from the eye. Along the 
edge of the eyelids are the Tarsal cartilages, designed 
to give a shape to the eyelids, and enable them to shut 
closely, and to give a firm basis to the eyelashes. 
Along the edge of the eyelids are a set of minute 
glands, called the Meibomian glands, which secrete a 
fluid that anoints the edges of the eyelids, keeping 
them from stickiug together. 

The Lachrymal gland is situated above the eye, and 
secretes the tears. It pours them out, so that they run 
over the eye, after which, they go into two little holes 
in the edge of the eyelids, in the inner corner of the 
eye ; one hole is in the upper, and one in the lower 
eyelid. These holes are the mouths of the Lachrymal 
Ducts, w T hich open into the Lachrymal Sac ; from the 
lachrymal sac, the tears are conveyed into the nose, 
through the Nasal Duct. The front portion of the eye- 
ball and the inside of the eyelids are covered with a 
mucous membrane, called the Conjunctiva, which 
continues on through the lachrymal and nasal ducts 
into the nose. 

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

The Conjunctiva or mucous membrane covering the 
eye and lining the lids, is subject to inflammation, 
caused generally by substances such as dust, and 
insects coming in contact with the external covering of 
the eye, or " getting into the eye," as it is generally 
called. These should always be removed as soon aa 
possible. The best way to remove them is to do it 
with a pin, the head of which, is guarded by a thick- 
ness of silk handkerchief. After the irritating body 



66 CATARACT — AMAUROSIS. 

has been removed, there will be a soreness and a feel- 
ing as though it were still there, and often, the sore- 
ness is made much worse by a constant rubbing of the 
eye. This rubbing of the eye should be carefully 
avoided in all its diseases. Inflammation of the con- 
junctiva is often the result of catarrhs or bad colds ; 
the irritation extending from the throat and nose up 
the mucous membrane that lines the tubes that carry 
the tears from the eyes to the nose. The best treat- 
ment is to bathe the eyes frequently with cold water, 
or cold water ~in which is dissolved some astringent 
substance, such as alum or sugar-of-lead. The eyes 
should be kept from a strong light, either by a dark 
room or by a green sun-shade. A light diet should 
be used, and the bowels should be kept regulated, or 
rather loose, by cathartics, such as Salts, Senna, or 
Castor-oil. The eyes should be used as little as pos- 
sible. These directions apply to all inflammatory 
affections of the eyes. 

Cataract is an opacity of the lens of the eye, preventing 
the rays of light from passing through and forming a 
picture on the retina, destroying vision. Cataract 
can be easily told by the appearance of a white cloud 
behind the iris, and from a dimness or complete loss 
of sight. The removal or destruction of the lens by 
means of a surgical operation, is the only way to cure it. 

Amaurosis is a palsy of the optic nerve. No altera- 
tion in the structure of the eye can be noticed ; it is 
a loss of power in the optic nerve, to take cogni- 
zance of light. The only means that can be used, with 
any prospect of benefit, are those that will have a ten- 
dency to stimulate the optic nerve to action, such as 
Moxse, Electricity, Strychnine, either applied on a 
blistered surface over the eye, or dropped in the form 



THE NOSE— CATARRH — POLYPUS, ETC. 67 

of a tincture, into the eye. Where amaurosis has ex- 
isted any length of time, the prospect for cure is very 
poor. 

"When ulcers or fungous growths form on the cor- 
nea or sclerotica, or on the lining of the eyelids, they 
should be touched with Lunar Caustic. In the treat- 
ment of all diseases of the eye, too much attention 
cannot be paid to those dietetic rules necessary for 
keeping the body in a healthy condition. 

THE NOSE. 

The walls of the Nose are composed of Bone and 
Cartilage, covered externally by skin, and lined inter- 
nally by mucous membrane. On this mucous mem- 
brane is spread out the Olfactory nerve or nerve of 
smell. To afford a larger surface for the expansion of 
this nerve four little bones are placed in the nose like 
shelves, two in each nostril, which are also covered 
with mucous membrane, on which this nerve is ex- 
panded. Animals having very acute smell, as the 
hound, have a still larger surface for the expansion of 
this nerve. The air, impregnated with odors, coming 
in contact with the olfactory nerve spread out on the 
lining of the nose, communicates that peculiar sensa- 
tion to the extremities of the nerve called — Smell or 
Odor. Catarrh or cold produces an irritation of the 
lining membrane of the nose, causing it to secrete a 
mucus ; this difficulty generally goes away of itself. 

There are serious diseases pertaining to this handle 
of the face. Polypus is a pulpy growth inside the 
nostrils that must be removed either by ligature or the 
knife. The end of the nose is sometimes the seat o( 
a most painful disease, called Wbli-me-tangere^ or 
" Touch-me-not." It is cured by some application 



68 SUBSTANCES IN THE NOSE — THE EAR. 

that will kill the nerve, generally some preparation 
of arsenic. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE NOSE. 

Foreign substances, Beans or Peas, for instance, can 
be removed from the nose, simply by punching them 
out at the back part of the nostrils, unless a small 
wire, bent double^ can be passed up the nose and thus 
haul the substance out in front. 

THE EAR. 

The Ear is a most beautiful machine, taken as a 
whole, perfectly adapted to the purpose for which it 
was designed ; that is, to communicate the vibrations of 
the air to the Auditory or Hearing nerve. The vibra- 
tion of the air is the cause of all sound. The outer 
or cartilaginous portion of the ear is formed so as to 
collect and concentrate the vibrations of the air on the 
ear-drum, which is a delicate membrane, stretched 
across the auditory passage, dividing the external from 
the internal ear. This ear-drum could not vibrate 
unless there was an opening for the air to go out and 
in from the inner chamber, no more than the head of a 
military drum would vibrate if it had no hole in the 
side. Now there is just such a hole, connected by a 
tube with the back part of the mouth ; sometimes 
when a person has a bad cold and the lining mem- 
brane of this tube, called the Eustachian tube, in- 
flames, and the tube becomes closed, the hearing is 
destroyed. It has been restored in some instances, 
by puncturing the ear-drum, so as to admit air to the 
inner chamber. This tube is sometimes opened after 
it has become closed, by an operation. Connected 
with the ear-drum is a chain of the most delicate 
and intricate little bones and muscles in the whole 






INFLAMMATION OF THE EAR. 69 

body. The innermost of these little bones is con- 
nected with a small spiral-shaped bone, hollow, 
resembling a snail shell. This little spiral-shaped 
bone, called Cochlea, is filled with a fluid. Lining the 
inside of the cochlea is a membrane in which the audi- 
tory or hearing nerve is spread out. Now the last 
bone of the chain is placed so as to press on the fluid 
in the cochlea and thus make an impression on the 
ramifications of the auditory nerve, so that just as the 
ear-drum is vibrated by the undulations of the air that 
produce sound, so this fluid is compressed by the 
last of the chain of bones, and the auditory nerve is 
impressed with the sensation of hearing. 

Inflammation of the structures of the ear, which 
may be known by heat and pain in the part, should 
be treated by frequent washings and injections with 
cool and astringent washes, Such as sugar of Lead 
water, and by a depletion of the general system by 
light diet and cathartics. In Chronic Inflammations 
of the internal ear, attended with a purulent discharge, 
injections of soaped water should be used twice daily, 
and counter- irritation should be used by means of 
blisters behind the ears, or by means of pustulation 
produced by a use of Tartar-emetic ointment, applied 
so as to keep out a crop of sores behind the ears con- 
tinually, until the discharge from the ears ceases. 



LECTURE V. 

THE MOUTH. 

The Mouth contains, receives, and gives out many 
things. It is, as it were, the vestibule of the human 
temple. The Lips partake partly of the nature of 
mucous membrane and partly of the nature of the 
external skin, called Epithelium, very delicate in its 
structure, at least that is the opinion of most all 
lovers ; its ruby, delicate structure is well calculated 
for the kissing operation. 

The lips become sore sometimes, and are apt to be 
kept sore by the tongue licking them continually. A 
slight soreness can be cured by keeping them dry and 
applying some simple ointment. If the soreness has 
been of long standing and is very painful, they should 
be first cauterized by lunar caustic. The lips are moved 
in every direction by muscles. The Tongue is composed 
almost entirely of muscles, whose contractions move it 
in almost every possible direction. These muscles 
have their origin from different parts of the jaw-bone 
and from the os hyoides. Over the tongue is spread 
out the Gustatory or Tasting nerve. Under the tongue 
and under the lower jaw are glands that secrete the 
juices of the mouth, the Spittle or Saliva, with which 
our food should be moistened. If we chewed our food 
long enough and did not exhaust these glands by the 
continual use of artificial stimulants, they would afford 
sufficient fluid to mix our food with without any other 
(70) 



71 

drink during eating. None of our domestic animals 
drink while they are eating ; and our digestive appara- 
tus is similarly constituted. 

In the cheeks, lips, palate and throat are muscles for 
performing the various motions of the parts in chewing 
and swallowing, spitting and speaking. The Palate 
is a curtain suspended between the mouth and throat 
to enable us to breathe while we. are chewing. Behind 
the mouth is the cavity called the Pharynx or throat, 
into which the mouth and the two nostrils terminate, 
from the upper and back part of which the Eusta- 
chian tubes commence, and from the bottom of which 
commences the Esophagus or gullet, and Larynx or 
windpipe. 

The mouth is often subject to inflammation. It is 
oftener owing to some derangement of the digestive 
organs than to any other cause. Your first object then 
is to get these in a proper condition, and then some 
slightly astringent wash, as of Borax, Alum, or Sugar 
of Lead, will effect a speedy cure. For sore mouth in 
children, generally called Thrush, some Slippery-elm 
water in which is dissolved Alum. The bowels should 
first be evacuated, however, by some mild cathartic, 
such as Magnesia. When ugly ulcers form in the 
mouth they should be rubbed over with Blue-stone or 
Nitrate of silver. In salivation from use of Mercury, 
hold a piece of Alum in the mouth, or chew Oak-bark 
or Nutgalls. 

TONSILS. 

On each side of the throat, back of the mouth, are 
two little lumps, called the Tonsils, that are not unfre- 
quently inflamed and enlarged. Active inflammation 
of the tonsils, called Quinsy, should be treated by 
general depletion of the system, by means of Blood- 
21 



72 QUINSY — THE WINDPIPE — LARYNX. 

letting, Cathartics, and light diet, and by a frequent 
use of astringent gargles. The application of Cups to 
the outside is the best way to abstract blood in this 
case. When inflammation of the tonsils has fairly set 
in, it is almost certain to terminate in suppuration, 
and no relief is to be expected until the pus or matter 
is discharged. In chronic inflammation of the tonsils, 
touching them with Lunar Caustic will sometimes 
effect a cure ; when it does not, however, the tonsils 
must be cut off with an instrument made for the 
purpose. 

"When the little teat of the palate, called the Uvula, 
grows too long, producing a disagreeable tickling in 
the throat, try to reduce its length first by the use of 
Caustic ; if this fails, it must be cut off, otherwise it 
might lay the foundation of some serious disease of the 
respiratory organs. 

THE WINDPIPE. 

The Windpipe is situated in front of the Esophagus, 
so that the food, in passing down the throat, must 
pass over the top of the windpipe. To prevent the 
food passing down the windpipe, a little clapper of 
cartilage is placed over the opening of the windpipe, 
which shuts down when we swallow, and rises up 
when we breathe. This little cartilage is called the 
Epiglottis. 

LAEYNX. 

Under the epiglottis is a little cartilaginous box, 
called the Larynx, across which are stretched two 
little cords, called the Cordse Yocales, which are fas- 
tened at the other end to two movable cartilages, called 
the Arytenoid cartilages. To these movable carti- 



CROUP — WOUNDS OF THE WINDPIPE. 73 

lages are fastened muscles whose contraction and 
relaxation tighten or loosen the CordaB Yocales. By 
the vibration of these cords principally, the tones of 
the voice are produced. It is these and not the tongue, 
as is generally supposed, that produce the voice. This 
little music-box of the throat is larger and more pro- 
minent in men than in women, producing that promi- 
nence in front of man's throat, called "Adam's 
Apple." 

When the Larynx is inflamed, it is called Laryn- 
gitis or Croup. Children are more subject to it than 
grown persons. The best treatment is to keep the 
child constantly nauseated by small doses of Ipecac. 
With the first two or three doses mix a grain or two 
of Calomel, enough to produce an operation on the 
bowels. Keep a poultice of Tobacco-leaves or Snuff 
around the throat. If the inflammation is not sub- 
dued in a day or two, a false membrane forms in the 
Larynx, which is pretty sure to produce death by 
suffocation. 

When suffocation is about to take place from Croup, 
an opening may be made in the Windpipe, below 
"Adam's Apple," and a quill inserted so that the child 
can breathe until the inflammation and swelling sub- 
side in the Larynx and the child is enabled to breathe 
through the natural passage. 

When the Windpipe has been cut off, or partly off, 
as in an attempt at suicide, the edges of the wound 
should be brought together with adhesive strips, 
and the parts kept perfectly still. The reason that 
attempts at suicide, by cutting the throat, are not 
more fatal, is that the wound is made too high up, 
where much cartilage is to be cut through before the 
large bloodvessels of the neck are reached ; lower 



74 TRACHEA— AIR CELLS. 

down, near the breast-bone, the bloodvessels lie more 
superficially and are more easily severed. 

When foreign substances get down the Windpipe 
and become fast, if they cannot be coughed up, they 
must be taken out through an opening in the wind- 
pipe. 

Below the Larynx the Windpipe continues to the 
lungs, a straight cartilaginous tube, rendered firm by 
ring-like thickenings at equal distances apart. When 
the Windpipe, called the Trachea below the Larynx, 
reaches the lungs, it divides into two tubes, the right 
and left Bronchise, going to the right and left lungs. 
These Bronchiae subdivide into other bronchise, until 
they finally become minute tubes, each one going to a 
separate air cell. 

These Air Cells constitute the principal part of the 
Lungs ; they are covered with bloodvessels, through 
which the impure blood, returned from every part of 
the system, passes, being forced there by the contrac- 
tion of the right side of the heart. The impure blood, 
in passing through the minute bloodvessels around 
the air cells, comes in contact with the air and is 
changed from impure venous blood to pure arterial 
blood. This is the object of breathing, to bring the 
air down the windpipe, along the bronchial tubes, 
until it reaches the air cells and comes in contact with 
the blood. When the blood is changed by passing 
around the air cells, it is taken up by another set of 
vessels and taken back to the left side of the heart, 
whose contraction sends it through the general sys- 
tem. The windpipe and the bronchial tubes are lined 
with mucous membrane. This mucous membrane is 
irritated in common colds. 

The inflammation of the mucous membrane lining 



TREATMENT OF BRONCHITIS. 75 

the larynx is the cause of croup. When the lining of 
the bronchia is inflamed, it is called Bronchitis. The 
treatment of croup has been spoken of before. The treat- 
ment of acute or active bronchitis should be much the 
same ; topical applications, such as hot cloths, mustard 
plasters or blisters, should be applied over the breast. 
Flannels wrung out of hot water, and frequently re- 
newed, are excellent applications for this difficulty. 
Fever must be kept down by the depleting remedies 
used to keep general fever down, such as blood-letting, 
active cathartics, and nauseants. Dissolve six grains 
of Tartar-emetic in a pint of warm water, and give a 
tablespoonful every half hour or hour, sufficient to 
keep a slight sickness at the stomach, until the fever 
abates, and a moisture of the skin is produced. If 
fever and dryness of the skin return, use the Tartar- 
emetic water again, in the same way. The warm- 
bath in this, as in most other inflammatory diseases, 
is of great utility. After the disease has existed 
some time, and the patient is weakened with a cough 
and difficulty of breathing, the Syrup of Squills or a 
Syrup of Elecampane or Horehound, combined with 
Cherry-tree bark, and some preparation of Iron is very 
useful ; using at the same time, some irritation on the 
outside, as a blister or mustard plaster ; and using the 
salt-bath every three or four days ; and being careful 
to avoid exposure; — nor use the voice more than 
is absolutely necessary. Many cases of chronic 
bronchitis have been mistaken for consumption, and 
when cured, they are reported as cases of consump- 
tion cured. 

Consumption is a very different disease ; it is not 
situated (at least in the first stage,) in the bronchial 
tubes, but in the substance of the lungs themselves. 



76 CONSUMPTION. 

Some persons are predisposed to consumption ; that is, 
they have from their infancy, the seeds of the disease 
in their lungs, transmitted to them from their con- 
sumptive parents; these seeds of consumption are 
called Tubercles ; they can easily be detected in the 
lungs of those predisposed to this disease, resembling 
little yellow seeds. These seeds may lie dormant in 
the lungs during life ; but it is seldom they do. In 
the spring-time of life, generally, and from a slight 
cold they are germinated, and rapidly grow into the 
most incurable disease. When these seeds begin to 
be developed into disease, they enlarge, inflame, and 
finally change into matter, which is discharged through 
the bronchial tubes, thence up the windpipe, and out 
at the mouth, forming sores in the lungs, which rapidly 
increase in size, eating away the substance of the 
lungs, until there is not lung enough left to purify the 
blood; then the patient dies. You can always detect 
these cavities in the lungs, by putting the ear to the 
chest, when you will hear the gurgling of the matter 
within, especially when the patient coughs. The 
chest sinks as the lungs decay. By tapping on the 
chest, it sounds more hollow than in the healthy one. 
The patient becomes weak, pale, poor, he has fever 
every afternoon; profuse night-sweats, sometimes 
diarrhea, hacking cough at first, afterward more vio- 
lent, throwing up yellow matter. When this disease 
fairly sets in, and large cavities or sores are formed in 
the lungs, it is incurable. Those cases staring one in 
every quack advertisement, of consumption being 
cured, are vile impositions to extort money from the 
credulous sufferer. 

The only hope of cure is in the first stage ; before 
the sores are formed ; before matter is spit up to any 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 77 

great extent. In the first stage of the disease, the 
person should live on the most simple, un irritating 
food ; and he should ride much on horseback ; this 
alone, has prevented many cases of consumption ; at 
the same time, he can use a tonic of Sarsaparilla and 
Wild Cherry bark, with some preparation of Iron ; 
rubbing the body from head to foot every morning 
with a flesh-brush, and taking a salt-bath once a- week. 
Removing to a warm climate is also very necessarj^. 
Use dry cupping on the outside of the chest, and 
Tartar-emetic ointments in order to raise a crop of 
sores there ; this will draw the irritation from the in- 
side to the outside, and thus prevent the disease being 
developed. When the disease fairly sets in, an occa- 
sional vomit will help to throw up the matter. Nour- 
ishing food, and tonics of Bitters, Iron, and the 
Mineral acids will support the system. A little Opium 
will check the diarrhea, and allay the pain ; Blisters 
will also be useful, but no hope can there be, of these 
remedies curing the disease. Medicines introduced 
by inhalation act more directly on the diseased lung 
than when taken by the mouth. 

In Pneumonia or Inflammation of the Lungs, which 
commences with chills, pain, and oppression in the 
chest, the difficulty of breathing increasing as the 
disease advances, with cough, the skin hot, the pulse 
strong and quick, difficulty in drawing in the breath, 
tongue white, the bowels costive generally, the treat- 
ment should be of the most active kind, or the patient 
dies; bleeding from the arms freely, and several times, 
if the violent symptoms should return ; then Tartar- 
emetic in sufficient quantity to keep the patient con- 
stantly nauseated, Cupping over the chest, mild Ca- 
thartics, and Injections; the Warm-bath. If oppres- 



78 LUNG FEVER. 

sion still continues, large Blisters on the chest. 
These means, if used actively, will generally cure the 
patient. There is a variety of inflammation of the 
substance of the lungs, occurring in malarious dis- 
tricts, commonly called u Lung Fever," that is peculiar 
in its nature, and requires a peculiar treatment. It is 
most apt to occur in damp, chilly weather, during the 
winter and spring, when the temperature is between 
the freezing and the thawing points — that kind of 
cold, damp weather that strikes a chill through one, 
more disagreeable than a more severe coldness, that 
would freeze up the moisture. The damp atmosphere, 
at such times, seems to be peculiarly favorable for the 
reception and dissemination of miasms. Such weather 
seems to relax and prepare the system for the recep- 
tion of malarious poisons ; especially is it so with 
systems already debilitated by malarious diseases. 
Persons having had the Fever and Ague, are liable, dur- 
ing such weather, to take a chill ; the blood, leaving the 
surface and extremities of the body, rushes in on the 
lungs and congests them so much more violently than 
in a chill of the common Fever and Ague, that when 
the reaction or fever takes place, the blood is not en- 
tirely driven from the lungs, but a portion of it re- 
mains, and becomes consolidated, filling up the spongy 
structure of the lungs, so that it resembles liver in- 
stead of lung. Now, there is no way of removing 
this hardened lung, except by its becoming inflamed 
and changed into matter, and discharged by the mouth. 
This constitutes what is called " Lung Fever," in Fever 
and Ague districts. It is marked by fever, which 
continues all the time, dry skin, a dry, brown tongue, 
difficulty in breathing, not much pain in the chest, un- 
less the pleurae are also inflamed, and a circumscribed 



LUNG FEVEE. 79 

purple flush on the cheeks, or more generally, on one 
cheek only. This is the most fatal disease that is pe- 
culiar to malarious districts, and requires the best of 
attention to be cured. Generally, the patient has 
already been debilitated by disease, consequently, 
powerful depleting means are inadmissible, such as 
general Blood-letting and powerful Cathartics. When 
called to a case that is just attacked, I prescribe small 
doses of Calomel and Ipecac, say two grains of each, 
every two hours, until the bowels are freely operated 
on, after which I continue the use of Ipecac, in suffi- 
cient quantity to keep down inordinate fever. 

Remember, it is impossible to subdue the fever so 
that it will not return, until the lung has commenced 
suppurating, or changing into matter. Keep the face 
and forehead wet with cold water as long as it is hot and 
feverish. Flannels, frequently wrung out of hot water, 
or mustard plasters, must be kept over the breast. If 
the urgent symptoms do not subside in forty-eight 
hours, or if the patient has been down two or three 
days with it before you are called, put on a large blis- 
ter, covering over one quarter of the entire chest, 
over the affected lung. Put the ear to the chest fre- 
quently to learn how much of it is impervious to the 
air, and how large a portion is ulcerating. When the 
hardened lung begins to be changed into matter, the 
object is to have the matter raised or spit up, as fast 
as it is formed. If the patient has sufficient strength 
to raise the matter as it is formed, until the whole of 
the diseased lung is removed in that way, he will 
recover. Hence the necessity of not reducing the 
patient's strength on the commencement of the disease 
more than is necessary. 

Expectoration or raising of the matter, is much 



80 PLEURISY- — ASTHMA. 

assisted by keeping flannels, wrung out of some hot 
stimulating fluid, such as camphor and water, over 
the chest. During this latter period of the disease, no 
more nauseants should be used than is absolutely- 
necessary to keep down too high a fever. In fact, 
during this period the fever should be kept down, if 
possible, simply by keeping the face bathed with cold 
water. If there is an appetite, give simple food, such 
as rice, chicken-broth, buttermilk, and the like. It 
would be well, after the patient commences throwing 
tip matter, to give a tea-spoonful of the Compound 
Syrup of Squill, with two grains of quinine, every 
four hours, for two or three days. It will have a ten- 
dency to assist expectoration, and prevent an undue 
return of fever. 

PLEURISY. 

In Pleurisy (inflammation of that serous membrane 
which surrounds the lungs and holds them in their 
place), which is indicated by fever, a darting pain 
through the chest, not so much oppression generally 
as in Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), nearly 
the same treatment should be used as in the above 
mentioned diseases. Opium may be given where the 
action of the system is somewhat reduced. 

ASTHMA OR PHTHISIC. 

Spasmodic affections of the lungs, are relieved by 
nauseating or emetic doses of Lobelia or Squills. Smok- 
ing Tobacco, and the common Jamestown Weed have 
been known to cure it. Whooping-coughs, colds, and 
most other irritating or inflammatory affections of the 
lungs, can be cut short by nauseating remedies, the warm 
bath, light diet, and, afterward, expectorants of Squills, 
Gum-ammoniac, Senega Snake-root, and the like. 



THE HEART — DIAPHRAGM. 81 

THE HEART. 

The Heart is subject to inflammation of its sub- 
stance, Rheumatism, Dropsy, an enlargement of its 
Structure, to a changing of its valves into Bone and 
to Nervous affections. Perhaps we have less control 
over the Heart, either in the healthy or unhealthy 
condition, than over any other organ of the body. In 
diseases of the heart the general system must be kept 
in proper condition ; nothing stimulating should be 
taken into the stomach, unless in attacks where instant 
death is threatened ; here a teaspoonful of Ether, and 
a like quantity of Spirits of Lavender will be useful. 
Dropsy of this organ exists in the serous membrane 
which surrounds the heart ; it is apt to occur when 
Dropsy exists in other parts of the body ; active purg- 
ing is here indicated, with Jalap and Cream of Tartar. 
Where there seems to be a want of action in the sys- 
tem, tonics, particularly of Iron, should be used; 
Sedatives will sometimes prevent the irregular action 
.of the heart; of these Digitalis is most generally used 
for this purpose : commence with three drops of the 
Tincture, three times a day, and increase it to fifteen 
or twenty or thirty. Nothing should be allowed to 
trouble the mind. Blisters on the thighs are recom- 
mended by the highest authorities ; cupping over the 
heart, also. 

THE DIAPHRAGM. 

The Diaphragm or Midriff, divides the chest from 
the abdomen or belly. It is muscular and tendinous, 
contracting at each inspiration, drawing the lungs 
down, and relaxing during expiration. Hiccup is a 
spasmodic affection of the Diaphragm ; drinking a 
little cold water, and holding the breath, will gener- 
ally relieve it. 



82 ESOPHAGUS — STOMACH. 

ABDOMINAL ORGANS. 

We shall now ascend out of the chest and go down 
the gullet into the lower story, as there is no door that 
opens directly from the chest or engine-room, into the 
abdomen or furnace-room of the human craft. The 
Esophagus, or Gullet, is a muscular tube, which, 
by alternate contractions, beginning at the top, 
forces the food into the stomach. This is the reason 
why the food goes into the stomach in whatever 
position we may be placed — head over heels or heels 
over head. 

FOREIGN SUBSTANCES IN THE ESOPHAGUS. 

When any substance gets fast in the throat, if it 
cannot be thrown up or pushed down, with a long, 
limber stick, with a piece of sponge tied to the end 
of it, it must be cut out. The gullet, called by physi- 
cians the Esophagus, terminates in the stomach. 

THE STOMACH. 

The Stomach is a sack lined with mucous mem- 
brane, which is full of little follicles or holes that pour 
out the juices of the stomach ; it has muscles in its 
walls that contract it in vomiting, assisted by the 
abdominal muscles. Vomiting consists in a reversed 
action of the muscles of the esophagus, stomach and 
first bowel ; this is the reason why bile is thrown up. 
Bile is not in the stomach naturally, but it is poured 
into the first bowel. When vomiting takes place, the 
bile is thrown from the first intestine into the stomach 
and thence out at the mouth. The stomach is more 
likely to be deranged than any other organ. 



DISEASES OF THE STOMACH — DYSPEPSIA. 83 

IRRITATION OF THE STOMACH. 

In slight Irritation, attended with nausea and want 
of appetite, the best cure is to miss two or three 
meals, live light for a day or two, and use an injection 
once a day, exciting the action of the skin by a 
thorough washing. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 

Inflammation of the Stomach is characterized by a 
burning, violent pain in it, great thirst, a fever, and 
generally costiveness. Here you must bleed from the 
arm, if the patient is full of blood, and cup freely 
over the region of the stomach. Take nothing into 
the stomach but Slippery-elm bark or Flax-seed water, 
with ice in it; a little at a time ; swallow small lumps 
of ice; give injections, and if the system requires nour- 
ishment, it must be given by injections. 

Mustard plasters and Blisters must be put over the 
stomach. When the inflammatory action is somewhat 
reduced, give one grain of Calomel and one-eighth of 
a grain of Morphia every two hours, until six or seven 
doses are given. Nothing but the most simple sub- 
stances must be taken for two or three days after an 
attack. 

DYSPEPSIA. 

Dyspepsia is generally supposed to be a Chronic 
inflammation of the stomach ; when the food is not 
properly digested there is heart-burn and water-brash, 
the bowels are sometimes costive and sometimes loose, 
the person becomes weak and poor, subject to fits of 
despondency. 

Dyspepsia is generally brought on by excess in 
eating and drinking. The only way in which it can 
be cured is, by paying strict attention to Diet, Clothing, 



84: DYSPEPSIA — DUODENUM. 

and Exercise. Simple diet, composed of coarse bread, 
rice, weak broth and the like ; cold water or milk for 
drink ; using no grease ; eating slowly ; chewing 
thoroughly, and partaking of but two or three kinds of 
simple food at a meal ; eating at regular times ; rising 
early ; using the flesh -brush, and exercising in the open 
air every morning before breakfast ; using the salt-bath 
once a week ; exercising freely during the day in the 
open air ; keeping the mind at ease ; wearing clean flan- 
nel next the skin 5. in a word, living temperately in 
everything, taking nothing in the stomach but what it 
can readily digest, and avoiding exposure. Two or 
three grains of Blue Pill, taken every night for a week 
or more, may be of use to correct the secretions, excit- 
ing the liver to action, and a little Rhubarb, or what is 
better, an injection once a day so as to produce at 
least one passage a day, until the habit is established 
at a certain time of the day, which should never be 
passed over unheeded. 

After the irritation of the stomach has been sub- 
dued, a Tonic, for instance, five grains of Carbonate 
of Iron, four grains of Rhubarb, eight grains of Co- 
lumbo, may be of use taken twice a day. I have seen 
the most inveterate cases of Dyspepsia cured by these 
simple means. If the stomach continues very irri- 
table, even when nothing but milk is taken into it, 
one-eighth of a grain of Morphia with one grain of 
Calomel should be given three times a day for a day 
or two at a time. 

THE DUODENUM. 

The Duodenum, or first bowel, is often diseased with 
acute ayj<3 chronic inflammation. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES. 85 

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES. 

Acute Inflammation of the Intestines is known by 
great tenderness on pressing over the abdomen, thirst, 
heat, vomiting of very offensive matter, and passing 
of dark, offensive stools, small, wiry pulse, prostra- 
tion of the strength, and great anxiety of the person. 
When the disease is violent and the patient is robust, 
bleeding from the arm is necessary, and cupping over 
the seat of the pain; if the bowels are costive, give a 
dose of Castor Oil, mixed with a few drops of Lauda- 
num, assisting the operation with an injection. While 
the symptoms are violent and no indication of pros- 
tration, for the first twenty-four hours generally give 
nothing but the Oil and cold Slippery-elm water; after 
the operation of the Oil, small doses of Morphia and 
Calomel, using hot Fomentations or even Blisters over 
the abdomen. After bleeding from the arm, the Warm 
Bath should be used. For several days after recovery, 
the patient should use no irritating articles of food or 
drink. 

Chronic Inflammation of the Intestines should be 
treated very much in the same manner as Dyspepsia, 
using counter-irritation over any painful part. 



LECTURE VI. 

LIVER COMPLAINT. 

What is called the Liver complaint should be 
treated also after the same manner. Calomel or Blue 
Pill should be used in Liver complaint, until a healthy 
action of the liver is obtained. The Mineral acids 
are useful in this complaint, both to take internally 
and to use externally, bathing the bowels, and the 
feet and legs with a water made slightly acid with 
equal parts of Muriatic and Mtric acids. Nitric 
Acid (called Aquafortis), when taken internally for 
Liver complaint, should be diluted with nine times its 
weight of Kain -water, of this from ten to thirty drops 
should be taken three times a day. 

DYSENTERY. 

In Dysentery, which is an inflammation of the last 
bowel, called the Rectum, there is great pain, and grip- 
ing, and a constant desire to go to stool ; it is often 
called the " Bloody Flux." At the onset of the dis- 
ease, if the symptoms are violent, Bleed from the arm, 
if not, Cup freely over the lower part of the abdomen 
or over the small of the back, give an active Purga- 
tive to clear out the bowels thoroughly, then inject 
a teaspoonful of Laudanum in a little Starch-water, 
giving nothing by the mouth but mucilaginous drinks 
of Slippery-elm water or Flax-seed tea, with perhaps 

(86> 



DYSENTERY — PILES . 87 

one grain of Calomel with two of Dover Powder, every 
two hours, ■until the symptoms abate. After Bleeding 
from the arm, the Warm-bath should be used. Astrin- 
gent substances should not be used at first, and when 
they are used afterward, the Dysentery continuing, 
they should not be taken by the mouth, but injected. 
A decoction of Oak-bark is perhaps best, or a tea- 
spoonful of Sugar of Lead put in a pint of Water, 
But three or four ounces of fluid should be injected at 
a time, and this should be cold. If these means fail, 
a large Blister should be put over the lower part of the 
bowels. 

PILES. 

Piles are little round tumors which grow in and 
near the opening of the lower gut ; they are produced 
by sitting a great deal or riding on horseback. They 
occur oftener in persons who do not take much exer- 
cise; and they may be produced by a too frequent 
use of Aloes or of the Patent Pills, nearly all of which 
are composed of nothing but Aloes, Gamboge, and 
Compound Extract of Colocynth, with a few other in- 
gredients to disguise their composition. 

Piles are very common in females when with child. 
They are very apt to bleed, and weaken the person. 
The best way to avoid them is to use Coarse and 
Simple Food, so as to keep the passages of the 
bowels soft, be on the feet as much as possible, 
use Rhubarb or Oil, if necessary, to keep the bowels 
regular. 

Local Applications to the Piles. — Cold Water is 
excellent mixed, perhaps, with a little Sugar of Lead 
or Oak-bark Tea or a Decoction of Nut-galls. An oint- 
ment, made of Blue Mercurial Ointment, Sugar of 
Lead, and Extract of Jamestown-weed, is excellent. 
22 



8 8 HERNIA RHEUMATISM . 

When the Piles hang out and are large, they should 
be cut off or the neck of them should be tied and then 
suffered to rot off. 

HERNIA. 

A Hernia or Burst is the passage of the intestine 
through some hole in the walls of the abdomen ; it is 
apt to occur in infancy from straining, crying, or from 
injury. Herniae are generally at the navel, in the 
groin, or in the bag of the testicles. When they occur, 
the intestine should be gently passed back and a com- 
press put over the hole, where the intestine came out, 
and kept there until the hole grows up, which will 
soon take place in children ; a truss is the best for this 
purpose. 

We come now to speak of certain peculiar affections 
that attack different parts of the body, and first of 

RHEUMATISM. 

Rheumatism is of two kinds, the Acute and Chronic. 
Rheumatism may exist in the muscles or in the joints. 
In the Acute there are all the symptoms of fever, with 
violent pain in the rheumatic parts ; this species of 
Rheumatism is treated by Bleeding, Mercurial purges, 
Cupping over the part, the application of Cold Washes, 
Compresses, after which the internal administration 
of Opium, Digitalis, or Hyoscyamus. 

Chronic Rheumatism is attended with pain but no 
fever ; it exists in the joints principally, shifting from 
one to the other. It is generally produced by strains 
and injuries of the joints. Here the internal admin- 
istration of Alterative Medicines, or such as alter the 
whole system slowly without any visible action, are ' 
indicated, such as the Blue Pill, the Hydriodate of 
Potassa with Sarsaparilla ; keeping the general system 



RHEUMATISM — GOUT. 89 

in an unirritated, calm state by the use of simple food. 
In fact, there is no condition of the system but what 
a careful regulation of the diet, clothing, exercise, and 
cleanliness, using temperance and regularity in all 
things, will aid the action of medicines, in many cases 
effecting a cure without the use of medicines. 

Beside the Alteratives in Rheumatism some other 
medicines are valuable, such as Indian Hemp, the 
Tincture of Guaiacum taken internally, twelve or fif- 
teen grains of the Gum taken three times a day, 
or from twenty to thirty drops of the Tincture of 
Colchicum three times a day, unless it purges too 
severely, then lessen the dose ; at the same time wash- 
ing the part twice a day with Tincture of Iodine, 
bandaging it afterward tightly with flannel bandages. 
In bandaging, the bandage should be about three 
inches wide, and rolled up tightly commencing at the 
extremity of the limb, and winding it upward evenly, 
turning the bandage when the limb begins to grow 
larger so as to have the compression equal from the 
extremity upward. Blisters and Stimulating Lini- 
ments are also good. 

Acute Rheumatism sometimes goes from the mus- 
cular structure of some limb to the muscular structure 
of the heart, causing sudden death. When Rheuma- 
tism leaves one part for another, it attacks the same 
kind of a structure as it leaves ; if it leaves a fleshy 
part it goes to a fleshy part ; if it leaves the serous 
membrane of a joint, it goes to a serous membrane. 

GOUT. 

The Gout is a disease similar to rheumatism. It 
differs from it in the suddenness of its attack, in its 
being confined to the smaller joints, in the deposition, 



90 DROPSY. 

in Gout, of chalky matter in the smaller joints, and in 
its almost invariably being produced by too high liv- 
ing. It is a very common disease among the wine- 
drinking nobility of England. 

The Treatment is to correct the general system, 
keep the bowels open, giving Opium internally and 
bathing the limb with soothing applications during 
the violence of the attack. A mixture of Laudanum, 
Camphor, and Alcohol is a good wash. The use of 
the Tincture of Oolchicum, as in rheumatism, is 
highly recommended. During the intervals of the 
attack, the patient should correct his intemperate 
habits, so as to prevent a recurrence of the disease. 

DROPSY. 

Dropsy is an accumulation of the serous part of the 
blood in different parts of the system ; sometimes in 
the limbs, sometimes in the abdomen, sometimes in 
the chest, and about the heart, and sometimes in the 
head. When it is recent, and attended with excite- 
ment of the system with fever, depleting remedies 
should be used, as general Blood-letting, Cupping, 
Active Cathartics, such as Eleterium or wild Cucum- 
ber; Jalap and Cream Tartar; from ten to fifteen 
grains of Jalap, four grains of Calomel, and three 
drachms of Cream Tartar repeated every four or five 
hours, until free purging is effected, using light diet. 
When the disease has existed a long time, Squill, with 
small doses of Calomel is very useful, keeping the 
skin in action by daily frictions and the Salt-bath. 
If there is debility, Tonics of Iron and Bitters are 
good. Try to ascertain the seat of the disease, and 
remove it. Children are frequently affected with 
dropsy of the head. Keeping the skin in action by 



PALSY. 91 

frequent Bathing, light diet, rubbing the head with 
Mercurial ointment and the use of Blisters, frequently 
removes it. When there is a large collection of water 
in the abdomen, chest, or head, it should be drawn off 
by an experienced physician. I have seen two large 
pailsful drawn from the abdomen of a patient at a 
time. Compressing the dropsical parts with bandages, 
will sometimes cure it. Some cases are reported to 
have been cured, by using Alder bark in Wine. 

PALSY. 

Palsy consists of a loss of feeling or motion in a 
part. Sometimes there is a palsy of the whole of one 
side of the body ; in this case, the cause is generally 
situated in the opposite half of the brain ; the brain 
being divided into two parts, the right and left hemi- 
spheres. Sometimes the legs and hips are palsied; 
the cause in this case is probably situated in the spinal 
marrow. If you cut off the spinal marrow in the 
small of the back, you paralyze all the lower parts of 
the body, which derive their nerves from the lower 
part of the spinal marrow. If you cut off the spinal 
marrow above the chest, you destroy life instantly, by 
paralyzing the vital organs. When the cause of palsy 
exists in the brain (which is generally the case), it 
may arise from some unnatural growth or collection 
inside the skull, a thickening of the skull itself, or a 
depression of the skull from an injury. If it cannot 
be absorbed away by an extremely light diet, the use 
of Blue Pill, Mercurial ointment, Hydriodate of Po- 
tass, Cupping along the back, or by a surgical opera- 
tion called Trepanning; there is but little hope of re- 
covery. Rubbing the palsied part with irritating sub- 
stances, such as Mustard and Pepper, Hartshorn, 



92 CONVULSIONS OR FITS. 

Blisters, etc., is useful; also, the passing of Electri- 
city through the part, and the use of the Shower-bath 
on it. Where palsy is recent and sudden, without 
any serious affection of the head, it is probably owing 
to some derangement of the bowels, and is removed 
by an active Cathartic. 

CONVULSIONS OR FITS. 

Fits, when produced by worms, are prevented by the 
use of Turpentine — a teaspoon ful three times a-day ; 
half a teaspoonful to a child, worked off with oil, if 
necessary; or Pink and Senna; ten grains of Pink 
root, and fifteen grains of Senna, steeped in boiling 
water, given twice a-day, or a few drops of Worm- 
seed Oil, given four or five times a-day. Children 
using much common salt with their victuals, seldom have 
worms. When fits are produced from other irritating 
substances in the stomach or bowels, an Emetic, after- 
ward an active Cathartic are indicated ; give an Emetic 
of twenty grains of Ipecac, and two of Tartar-emetic, 
assisting its action with Chamomile tea; afterward, 
four good -sized Pills, composed of equal parts of 
Calomel, Rhubarb and Aloes ; repeating two Pills every 
two hours, until an operation from the bowels is pro- 
duced ; taking no food but thin Water-gruel, and no 
drink but Cold Water. This course, with the Warm- 
bath, will not only remove fits, but a great many other 
diseases and bad feelings that are produced by an ac- 
cumulation of irritating substances in the bowels. If 
the person's bowels are very torpid, hard to be acted 
upon, use the same number of Pills, composed of equal 
parts of compound extract of Colocynth, Scammony, 
and Aloes. Where fits become habitual, increasing 
in frequency, and destroying the mind, notwithstand- 



EPILEPSY^ — APOPLEXY. 93 

ing the foregoing efforts to remove them, the cause is 
probably situated in the brain ; and if it cannot be re- 
moved by a surgical operation, by the use of certain 
mineral Tonics, as Nitrate of Silver, Bismuth, Carbon- 
ate of Iron, and Blisters or Setons along the back, it 
may be considered a hopeless case. This variety of 
fits is called Epilepsy. During a convulsion, cold 
water should be poured on the head. 

APOPLEXY. 

Apoplexy is caused by the rupture of a bloodvessel 
in the brain, by which blood is poured out, compress- 
ing the brain ; or it is produced by the pouring out of 
the serous part of the blood without the rupture of a 
bloodvessel. 

The rupturing of bloodvessels is the most frequent 
cause. Persons of a full habit, fleshy, with thick, 
short necks, are most liable to be attacked by it. 
When a person is attacked with apoplexy, which is 
generally brought on by violent exercise of the body 
or mind, the violent action of the sun, he falls down, 
breathes slow, afterward, convulsively, snoring and 
foaming at the mouth ; the eyes and face are flushed 
and distorted, the pupils dilated, the eye looks dull 
and fixed ; sometimes blood bursts from the nose. It is 
often a fatal disease ; if he gets over it for a time, he 
is apt to have it again, and generally is attacked with 
Hemiplegia (paralysis of half of the body). The 
treatment must be of the most vigorous kind. Recol- 
lect, that the pressure of blood on the brain, is the 
cause of the disease ; the only hope we have to draw 
away the accumulated blood, is by bleeding. Open a 
vein in each arm ; make a large orifice, and bleed 
largely and frequently until the symptoms are changed, 
have the patient put in a cool place, where there is 



94 HYDROPHOBIA. 

fresh air; let his head be elevated ; put his feet in hot 
water, and put the coldest water to his head ; pour 
several bucketsful from a pitcher or a coffeepot, from a 
height on his head. As soon as you use these means, 
give active purges, Calomel and Jalap, and Colocynth ; 
if the patient cannot swallow, drop four or five drops 
of Croton oil on the tongue. 

Persons of an apoplectic habit, should always be on 
the guard against an attack ; if they become plethoric, 
that is, full of blood, and feel an unnatural fullness in 
the head, they should ward off an attack by light diet, 
saline purgatives, such as Salts and Magnesia, or 
Cream of Tartar ; they should sleep with the head ele- 
vated ; should avoid a full supper, and never have any 
tight ligatures around the neck or body. 

HYDROPHOBIA. 

Hydrophobia means literally, fear of water. This 
definition is perhaps questionable, inasmuch as dogs, 
when first attacked, drink freely, and it is only when 
their throats swell, so that they cannot drink, that 
they make such spasmodic motions when they attempt 
it. This disease originates almost invariably, in the 
canine species; from what cause, we know not; their 
bite communicates the disease to every animal ; to all, 
it is equally fatal, more particularly so to man. The 
poison may lie dormant in the system, from ten days 
to as many months. 

When a person is attacked he first feels a pain in 
the part bitten, extending up along the nerves going 
from the part ; he feels a drowsiness and fullness of 
the head. He soon becomes excited, he is agitated 
from the slightest causes, fearful, his eyes become un- 
naturally brilliant, he is sick at his stomach ; after a 



HYDROPHOBIA. 95 

while he becomes unable to swallow liquids, gasping 
like a drowning man every time he attempts it ; he 
raves ; in a few days death terminates the melancholy 
scene. 

"When a person is bitten by a mad dog, he should 
wash the part constantly with the nearest water he 
can get — warm water if possible ; pour it on the part 
from a height ; inject it with a syringe ; tie a string 
tightly around the limb above the bite ; suck out the 
wound with the mouth (there is no danger in taking 
it into the mouth), or put a cupping-glass over the 
wound ; keep washing this way for fifteen or twenty 
minutes, then cut the edges of the wound out with a 
sharp knife. Where a tooth has gone into the flesh, 
take a sharp pointed stick, put it into the place made 
by the tooth, and then cut the part all round the end 
of the stick, so as to take out a little cap of flesh on 
the end of the stick ; when this is done, cauterize the 
whole wound with Nitrate of Silver, or Caustic Potash, 
or Ammonia ; then put on a Bread-and-Milk Poultice 
on which is spread an ounce of Mercurial ointment; 
keep the sore running for several days. When you 
have got the wound dressed give the patient a large 
dose of Calomel and Opium, three grains of Opium 
and fifteen of Calomel, and let him go to bed and sleep 
as long as he can ; after eight or nine hours, if the 
bowels are not open, give a purgative. 

If, however, the disease attacks the person, medicine 
knows of no certain remedy. Trust not, I warn yon, 
to the trifling herbs which are said to have cured Hy- 
drophobia ; they never did. There is but one means 
I should have any confidence in after the disease has 
commenced — it is the means I should use if I were 
attacked with Hydrophobia. It is the remedy for the 
23 



96 HYDROPHOBIA CANCER. 

bite of poisonous snakes and insects, and in every 
case of this kind, has cured the patient. I would say, 
by the way, that the bite of a poisonous reptile is to 
be treated, at first, in the same manner as the bite of a 
mad dog, 

If then a person is attacked with the singular disease 
arising from the bite of a venomous serpent or insect, 
or of a mad dog, or from a wound received in dissecting 
a dead body, he should first cauterize the part wounded 
with Caustic Potash, Nitrate of Silver, or a red-hot 
iron ; then commence drinking Spirits, Whisky, for 
instance, drinking and walking until he can walk no 
longer ; keep him dead-drunk as long as there are any 
active symptoms of the disease for thirty-six or forty- 
eight hours. If Spirits don't do the business properly, 
combine them with Opium. This treatment will cure 
the bite of poisonous snakes, and I don't see why it 
will not cure the bite of the mad dog. It is the remedy 
I should use in my own case, and the only one I should 
have any confidence in after the paroxysms have com- 
menced. If the Spirits cannot be taken by the mouth, 
they should be injected. Chloroform might be used. 

CANCER. 

Cancer is another of the diseases that too frequently, 
like consumption, diseases of the heart and of the ner- 
vous system, baffles all human skill. It attacks many 
parts of the body, but generally the nose, lips, eyelids, 
breasts, uterus, and testicles. It first appears as a 
hard, bluish lump which can be moved about with the 
finger, and from which goes a darting pain. Some 
cases are reported to have been cured, when taken at 
first, by compression and by the application of sub- 
stances to stop at once the irritability of the part, as 



AFFECTIONS OF THE KIDNEYS — BLADDER — SKIN. 97 

preparations of Arsenic, or Corrosive Sublimate, or 
the Iodide of Mercury. Take ten grains of Corrosive 
Sublimate, put them in two ounces of Water, dip a 
little rag in it and lay it over the part once a day. 
The only sure remedy there is, and this is sometimes 
not sure, is extirpation, cutting it out before the dis- 
ease has time to affect any other part. When it occurs 
in the breast, for instance, cutting it out before little 
lumps appear in the direction of the armpits and in 
the armpits. 

AFFECTIONS OF THE KIDNEYS AND BLADDER. 

Active Inflammation of these parts is to be treated 
by the general reducing plan spoken of in internal in- 
flammation and by Cupping on the outside. Where there 
is a long-continued disease of the Kidneys, an irrita- 
tion should be kept up on the outside by Tartar-emetic 
Ointment, Setons and Cupping, with the internal use 
of Mucilaginous drinks and teas of Uva Ursi or Buchu 
Leaves. 

When Stone exists in the Bladder too large to b^ 
discharged by the Urethra, the only remedy is an ope- 
ration, eithef with instruments to crush the stone e* 
to cut it out. 

EXCRESCENCES ON THE SKIN. 

Little hard growths on the skin, as Corns, Warts, 
Moles, are cured by first moistening them an hour or 
more in warm water and then paring them down til] 
the blood appears, then cauterizing them with Lunar 
Caustic, Caustic Potash, or Aquafortis, or a red-hot 
Iron ; afterward put a little Cotton over thorn, and If 
it is a Corn, wear a loose Shoe for a few days. 



98 DROWNING — LIGHTNING — POISONS. 

ASPHYXIA FROM DROWNING. 

In cases of Drowning the subject should be stripped 
and wrapped in a warm Blanket, the limbs, back and 
body should be rubbed well with stimulating sub- 
stances, as Mustard, Turpentine, Ammonia. Warm 
Spirits should be passed into the stomach by a stom- 
ach-tube. Artificial respiration should be resorted to; 
hold the nose of the patient with one hand, and then 
blow into the mouth with the mouth of the operator, 
pressing on the chest, after each time he blows, so as 
to imitate the natural respiration ; if a pair of bellows 
is used, hold the mouth and put the muzzle into one 
of the nostrils, holding the other nostril ; don't blow 
hard ; blow and press on the chest afterward about 
twenty times in a minute. 

SHOCKS FROM LIGHTNING. 

Persons that are struck by Lightning should be 
dashed with cold water, stimulating substances being 
rubbed on the surface at the same time, to bring back 
the spark of life. In fact, the treatment for drowning 
would, in the main, be appropriate for those struck 
with lightning or for poisoning, with sedative, sleep- 
producing substances, such as Opium, Poison, Hem- 
lock, Henbane, Foxglove, Deadly Night-shade, James- 
town Weed. 

POISONS. 

TREATMENT FOR POISONING FROM NARCOTICS FOR OPIUM AND THE ABOVE 
MENTIONED SUBSTANCES. 

After the Stomach has been emptied (which should 
be the first thing done in poisoning from any sub- 
stance) with an active Vomit, for instance, twenty 
grains of White Vitriol, dissolved in a teacupful of 



POISONS — HYSTERIA. 99 

water, or Ipecac, twenty grains, and Tartar-emetic two 
grains, or with the Stomach-pump, Stimulants, such 
as hot Coffee, should be given, using friction continu- 
ally and keeping the patient awake and in motion. 
For poisoning from any of the preparations of Opium, 
the treatment would be the same as from the Gum 
Opium as from Laudanum, Morphia, Paregoric, or 
Black drops. 

Poisoning from Arsenic is remedied by the internal 
use of the Hydrated Peroxide of Iron, a bottle of 
which should be kept constantly at hand when arsenic 
is about ; by taking it freely it changes arsenic into a 
harmless substance. When Corrosive Sublimate is 
taken the whites of eggs should be given as much as 
the stomach can hold. When the Mineral acids, as 
the Nitric, Sulphuric, or Muriatic are taken, weak ley 
of Ashes, Magnesia or Soap should be taken freely. 
When Caustic Potash or Lime, or any other caustic 
alkalie, acids should be taken, as Vinegar, Diluted 
Sulphuric or Nitric acids. When an Emetic is given 
to throw up a poison, it is assisted by a Poultice placed 
over the stomach, of Tobacco steeped in vinegar. 

HYSTERIA. 

Hysteria, commonly called " Hysterics," is a nervous 
disease, caused by indolence, affections of the mind, 
improper food, and the like. The Cold-bath will 
most always check an attack ; if there is much full- 
ness of the system, Bleeding is necessary, followed by 
medicines to allay the irritability of the nervous sys- 
tem, as Valerian, called by some Nervine or Lady 
Slipper root, Assafoetida, Camphor, and, perhaps, 
Opium. 



100 DELIRIUM TREMENS — WOUNDS. 

DELIRIUM TREMENS. 

This is a disease of the Nervous system principally, 
in conjunction with much irritation of the Stomach, 
caused by an excessive use of spirituous liquors. The 
patient is restless, sleepless, has trembling, the most 
horrid apparitions before his eyes continually; imagin- 
ing his life is to be taken by hobgoblins that surround 
him. The treatment of Delirium Tremens varies accord- 
ing to its occurring while the patient is drinking exces- 
sively, or, from a habitual drinker, being suddenly 
deprived of his cups. In the former a Depletive and 
Sedative plan must be'pursued; in the latter Stimulating 
and Sedative. In the former stimulating injections 
must be given, so as to open the bowels thoroughly ; 
give internally pills of Scammony, Compound Extract 
of Colocynth and Aloes ; perhaps Bleeding will be 
necessary. After the bowels are open give Laudanum, 
Camphor, and Assafcetida until the nervous system is 
quiet, until sleep is produced. Where Delirium Tre- 
mens occurs from depriving the patient of his accus- 
tomed drams to the above treatment, his accustomed 
quantity of spirits must be given until he recovers 
from the attack ; and then if he wishes to stop the use 
of them he can do it gradually. 

WOUNDS. 

We now come to Wounds. A simple cut wound, 
called an Incised wound, is the simplest; its edges 
should be brought together and be kept there by ban- 
dages, strips of sticking-plaster (that is, common 
sticking-plaster, spread on muslin, and then cut in 
narrow strips), the plaster on the strips being melted, 
they should be drawn across the wound ; if a muscle 



PUNCTURED AND LACERATED WOUNDS. 101 

is cut across whose contractions would tend to draw 
the edges of the wound apart, stitches should be taken 
every two or three inches. Let each stitch be separate. 
If a large bloodvessel is cut off, it must be tied, letting 
the ends of the string hang out of the wound. The 
parts should be kept at rest, and the dressing should 
not be removed for four or five days. In what is 
called Punctured wounds, where an instrument pierces 
the body, if there are any foreign substances in the 
wound that will produce irritation, they must be taken 
out, bloodvessels tied if they bleed alarmingly, and the 
parts must be held together by bandages as much 
as possible, and kept perfectly still ; if there is fever- 
ishness in the system it may be necessary to bleed, 
and give saline cathartics. 

Lacerated wounds are those produced by a blunt- 
instrument, by the kick of a horse, for instance ; where 
the edges of the wound are jagged and the parts 
bruised, the wound does not heal so readily as a 
simple incised wound. This kind of wound however, 
bleeds but very little, from the fact that wherever a 
vessel is bruised or twisted off it bleeds but little ; but 
where it is cut smoothly off it bleeds much more. 
Some surgeons twist quite large vessels instead of 
tying them to stop their bleeding. In lacerated or 
torn wounds the parts should be washed clean, every 
foreign substance, such as dirt, hair, and the like, 
should be carefully removed from it, and the parts 
brought together by strips of adhesive plaster, and 
moderately tight bandages ; if the inflammation of 
the part becomes too violent, cold applications must 
be applied: Cold Sugar of Lead-water is a good appli- 
cation ; at the same time reducing the action of the 
system by light diet, salts, and bleeding, if necessary. 



102 KUPTURED BLOODVESSELS. 

Large bloodvessels are frequently cut off which it is 
necessary to tie ; if the blood, on issuing from the ves- 
sel, be dark, and runs in a continuous stream, it is a 
vein that is cut, and in tying it you must tie the cat 
end, that is, farthest from the heart, for you are aware 
that the blood in the veins runs from the circumfer- 
ence to the centre of the body, to the heart. If the 
blood, on issuing from the wound, is of a bright-red 
color, and comes out in jets, it is an artery that is cut, 
and here the cut end nearest the heart must be tied ; 
because the arteries carry the blood from the centre to 
the circumference of the body or from the heart. If 
the artery is a large one, it is necessary to tie both 
extremities, for there are no valves in the arteries as 
in the veins, to prevent the blood running in a back- 
ward direction. 

The arteries are not so apt to be cut as the veins, 
because they are more deeply seated. If the vessel is 
not too large, the bleeding can be stopped simply by 
scraping up some cotton, and putting it at the extrem- 
ity of the vessel and then compressing it slightly. 
When a bloodvessel is cut which passes over a bone, 
as the vessels of the wrist or of the temples, a little 
pyramid should be made of pieces of muslin of dif- 
ferent sizes, the smallest being put on first, and then 
a larger, and so on, and then a tight bandage should 
be drawn round the part so as to pr^ss directly on the 
vessel. A great many lives might have been saved in 
cases of wounds, if the by-standers had only known 
how to compress the bloodvessels until medical aid 
could have been obtained. 



LECTURE VII. 

WOUNDS OF THE ABDOMEN. 

Slight wounds of the Abdomen, not penetrating 
the intestines, should be drawn together with strips of 
Adhesive plaster, with, perhaps, a few stitches, and 
treated as a simple wound ; if the intestines protrude 
they are to be carefully returned, and the part drawn 
together — nothing should be given to evacuate the 
bowels, and the lightest diet should be prescribed. 
If fever occurs, free bleeding should be resorted to. If 
the intestines are cut, blood is vomited and passed by 
the other passages , the patient rapidly sinks : there is 
not much hope here in any treatment. 

Wounds of the Neck are treated by tying the large 
« vessels that are cut, bringing the parts together with 
separate stitches and by low diet. 

In wounds of the Gullet, and in fact, in nearly all 
severe wounds of the throat, the food should be intro- 
duced into the stomach by a Gum-elastic tube passed 
into the stomachVhrough the nose ; the chin should 
be fixed on the breast-bone until the wound heals. 

Slight wounds of the chest are to be treated as else- 
where ; when they penetrate into the lungs, indicated 
bj r wind passing out of the orifice, the orifice should 
be closed to prevent wind from entering it, and a ban- 
dage applied ; if blood collects there, it must be let 
out of the wound, as also when it collects, in wouuds 



104 GUNSHOT WOUNDS, BRUISES, SPRAINS. 

of the abdomen. The patient should avoid talking 
and coughing as much as possible : low diet, and de- 
pleting remedies should be used. 

In gunshot wounds, if the bone is much shattered, 
the limb must be taken off. If the fleshy parts are 
wounded only, first take out the foreign bodies, such 
as pieces of clothes ; the ball, if it can be found, tying 
large vessels if they bleed much and dress the wound 
with lint, over which, put a piece of muslin, on which 
is spread an ointment of equal parts of Lard, Tallow, 
and Beeswax. Gunshot wounds generally bleed but 
very little, because the tearing of the vessels causes 
the ends to contract. But afterward when the ends of 
the vessel slough off, bleeding is apt to recur with 
greater violence. In a very violent wound, where the 
general system sympathizes, causing the person to be 
restless, it is best to give a large dose of Opium, so as 
to put the system to sleep, and make it forget the in- 
jury done to it, and not resent it by too excessive re- 
action. 

In common bruises and sprains, apply cold water to 
the part ; keep a rag wet with cold water, around the 
limb continually. If inflammation takes place, reduce 
the general system by light diet, and purging. When 
a person has received a shock so as to render him in- 
sensible, and you cannot detect a pulse, don't bleed 
immediately, but wait till reaction takes place, and 
you can tell better whether bleeding is necessary. 
While the person is pulseless, rather use stimulants, 
such as Hartshorn or Camphor until he revives. 
When bleeding occurs from a vessel that you cannot 
tie or compress, as in the extraction of a tooth, apply 
some astringent, such as Ice, Sugar of Lead, Alum, 
Nut-gall, or the Nitrate of Silver. 



HEMORRHAGE — WOUNDS OF THE HEAD. 105 

And here I will remark, that when hemorrhage or 
bleeding occurs from the stomach, lungs, bowels, or 
excessive bleeding from the uterus, and the person is 
strong and plethoric, open a vein, and bleed in the 
sitting posture until fainting. When fainting occurs, 
it seems to have a potent influence in arresting hemor- 
rhage in any part of the body. If, however, the bleed- 
ing continues, give Ice-water and small doses of Sugar 
of Lead, and apply cold applications over the surface. 
If it be uterine hemorrhage, inject cold water into the 
uterus, or what is better, Cold water with Sugar of 
Lead, a pint of the former to a teaspoonful of the latter, 
injecting a couple of ounces at a time. If given in- 
ternally, three or four grains every two hours, until 
the hemorrhage stops. If Sugar of Lead is not at hand, 
Alum-water, or a decoction of Oak bark, or Gall- 
nuts will answer. 

Hemorrhage from the nose may be stopped by cold 
applications to the face, head and genitals, or by blow- 
ing Tannin up the nostrils, or by plugging the nostrils 
before and behind. 

Hemorrhage from the lungs should be treated by 
inhaling astringent vapors ; vapor from water satu- 
rated with Tannin. Frequently hemorrhage is an effort 
of Nature to relieve some congested organ, and should 
not be interfered with, as where there is a stoppage of 
the menses or monthly discharge. 

Wounds of the head are always dangerous, and if 
there is any probability of the skull being broken, 
which is generally known by the person being stupefied, 
appearing as though in a deep sleep, the brain is evi- 
dently compressed, either by a depression of the bono 
or an effusion of blood inside the skull. A skillful 
surgeon is here absolutely necessary to elevate the 



106 WO0NDS OF TENDONS — LOCKJAW. 

bone if it be depressed. If the pulse is full and the 
person comatose and snores, Bleeding and cold appli- 
cations to the head, as in apoplexy, is all that you can 
do. When the tendons of muscles are cut off, as those 
of the Wrist or the Hamstrings, or the tendon of the 
heel, the limb must be flexed, bringing the cut ends 
of the tendons as near together as possible, at the 
same time, bandaging along the course of the muscles, 
so as to keep the muscles at rest until the cut ends of 
the tendons unite. From the imperfect healing of 
wounds, as well as from exposure to wet and cold and 
the taking of indigestible substances into the stomach, 
a peculiar and dangerous condition of the nervous 
system is sometimes induced, called Lockjaw. It is 
most frequently produced by sticking forks or needles, 
thorns, or rusty nails into the hand or foot. It often 
occurs from gunshot wounds, when part of a nerve 
is divided, leaving the other part in an irritable con- 
dition. The symptoms are a stiffness of the back and 
neck, with an uneasy sensation at the root of the 
tongue, difBculty in swallowing, a fixed state of the jaws ; 
the spasms recur every ten or fifteen minutes, increasing 
in frequency and severity, until the patient is carried 
off, unless relieved. If the patient be of full habit, 
robust, ~1Bleed freely from the arm; then give large 
doses of Opium ; if it cannot be given by the mouth, 
inject Laudanum and Starch water ; don't give it by 
the dose, but by the effect it produces. A person in 
this disease frequently requires three or four times as 
much as in ordinary cases. If you inject it, use two 
or three teaspoonfuls of Laudanum every two hours, 
until the spasms are released. The Warm-bath is re- 
commended, and also Douches with Cold water. If 
it arises from a nerve partly divided, the nerve must 



FRACTURES. 107 

be cut off entirely ; the original wound must be opened 
again with Caustic. 

FRACTURES. 

The Fracture of a limb is simply the breaking of the 
bone of the limb ; it may also be attended with a 
wound of the fleshy parts around the bone, and the 
tearing off of large bloodvessels ; the ends of the bone 
may be pushed through the flesh. Where there is a 
simple fracture without other wounds, you can detect 
it by rubbing the ends of the bones together, by which, 
a grating is produced. The Treatment is, to put the 
ends of the bones together, place the limb in its na- 
tural position, noticing that it is as long as the other 
limb; then winding the limb with a bandage; then 
putting thin cotton batting along where you want to 
apply the splints of shingle or pasteboard, and when 
these are applied, winding the whole again with a 
bandage ; the limb must then be kept perfectly quiet 
for several weeks, held in such a position that all the 
muscles will be in a relaxed condition. If there is a 
flesh wound with the fractures, the large vessels that 
are ruptured must be tied ; foreign substances must be 
removed ; the broken bones put in as natural a posi- 
tion as possible; the external wound must then be 
dressed as a simple wound, and the whole clone up in 
bandages and splints. 

When the thigh-bone is broken, some kind of an 
apparatus is necessary to keep the limb extended, so 
that when it unites together, it will be as long as the 
other limb. 

The best way of treating fractures of the thigh, is, 
to let the patient lie on a straw bed, with the log ox- 
tended ; then take two pieces of board, about throe 
or four feet long, and eight or ten inches wide ; one 



108 STIFF- JOINT — DISLOCATIONS . 

is to be placed on each side of the leg; the upper 
end of the inner one is to be cushioned, which is to be 
pressed up against the groin ; there is to be a cross- 
piece at the bottom, to which the foot must be tied, 
keeping it down, so as to be of the same length as the 
other leg ; it must be kept in this position until healed. 

When the joint of a limb is affected, and a stiff 
joint — Anchylosis — is threatened, the limb must be 
placed in that position, it would be most convenient, 
if stiff, to perform the ordinary duties of life. If the 
fracture is in the knee, the leg must be kept straight 
by being bandaged in a box filled in with cotton bat- 
ting, so as to keep the leg in the same position. 

If the fracture is in the elbow, it must be bent to 
a right angle, because if the joint becomes stiff, the 
fore-arm would be more useful if at a right angle with 
the arm. In fractures, as dislocations of all other 
bones, bandage and splint them in the right place, 
and keep them so, till healed. 

DISLOCATIONS. 

In a Dislocation, or when a limb is put out of joint, 
it should be returned to its place as soon as possible ; 
and if a surgeon cannot be soon had, it is better for 
others to attempt it, than to wait until swelling and 
inflammation take place, when it will be much more 
difficult to put it in place. You can tell when a bone 
is out of place, by the limb being of unequal length 
with the corresponding one ; by the end of the bone 
being out of its accustomed place ; by pain, and by 
an inability to move the limb. When the large limbs 
are out of joint, as the thigh, leg or arm, put a roll 
of muslin between the legs or under the arm, as the 
case may be, which is to be held by assistants behind 



DISLOCATIONS. 109 

the patient, or which may be tied to a post, in order 
to hold the patient when the limb is pulled ; then 
wind another wide strip of muslin around the limb, 
with which other assistants are to draw the limb 
lengthwise — yourself pull the end of the dislocated 
bone a little out from the end of the other, and it will 
generally slip in its place readily. The shoulder can 
generally be put in its place in this manner. Let the 
patient lie down, and put your foot in his armpit; 
grasp with both hands his wrist and fore-arm ; get 
him to tell you all about the accident, and while he is 
off his guard, draw the arm s.uddenly, and the end of 
the bone will slip in ; the arm should afterward be 
bandaged to the breast for some time ; in fact, after 
all dislocations, the limbs should be kept quiet for 
some time afterward, until the ligaments which held the 
ends of bones in their joints contract and recover from 
the great tension to which they have been subjected. 

In dislocations of the smaller joints, as the wrist, 
fingers, or collar-bone, the same principles of exten- 
sion and counter-extension will apply, drawing the 
ends of the bones slightly from one another, until 
they come in place, and then keeping them in place 
by splints and bandages for sometime afterward. The 
jaw is sometimes dislocated in gaping ; here put on a 
pair of thick gloves, put your thumbs on the teeth, 
and your fingers below the jaw ; press down with 
your thumbs ; draw up and forward with your fingers, 
slipping your thumbs between the jaws and lips when 
it goes in joint, or else they will be bitten. In fracture 
of the lower jaw 3 the jaw should be tightly bound to 
the upper one ; a little pasteboard splint should be 
bandaged over the broken part, the bandage going 
over the head ; nourishment should be sucked through 



110 AMPUTATION. 

the teeth or injected. If the limbs cannot be returned 
to their places in this manner, bleed, rise the Warm- 
bath, and nauseating doses of Tartar-emetic until the 
muscles relax, or use Chloroform. 

AMPUTATION. 

In case of a limb being torn to pieces, where it is 
necessary that it should immediately be taken off, and 
a surgeon cannot be obtained, the limb can be taken 
off very easily and safely by very simple instruments, 
and by any person who has a little courage. Provide 
yourself with a straight Carving-knife, very sharp, a 
very sharp Penknife, a few waxed linen or silk Strings, 
a Needle, a pair of small Pinchers, a piece of Muslin 
two feet long, torn in the middle, a long Bandage rolled 
up, a piece of old Muslin spread with Lard, or Oint- 
ment made of Lard, Tallow, and Beeswax, and a 
carpenter's Back-saw, or Saw with a piece of iron on 
the back to keep it stiff; give the patient sixty drops 
of Laudanum ; then above the part to be cut off, tie a 
handkerchief, and twist it round with a stick, so as to 
compress the arteries of the limb, and prevent exces- 
sive bleeding; now make an incision around the limb 
through the skin, so as to form one large flap of skin 
that will cover the end of the amputated limb, or two 
flaps, which, meeting in the middle of the end of the 
limb, will cover it that way ; dissect the flaps up, and 
let them be held by an assistant ; then with the large 
knife cut the fleshy part of the limb around down to 
the bone ; put the piece of slit Muslin so that one slit 
shall be on each side of the bone, and let an assistant 
hold the cut parts of the limb up with the muslin, 
while you saw off the bone, smoothing off the edges 
of the bone afterward; then tie the bloodvessels, 



CHOLERA. Ill 

letting the strings hang out of the wound ; draw the 
flape together; put a few separate stitches through 
them ; then draw them together with strips of adhe- 
sive plaster, over which, put the ointed Muslin ; then 
roll the whole up snugly with the bandage. 

CHOLERA. 

The Cholera is one of the greatest scourges that 
ever afflicted mankind. The Hindoos have a tradi- 
tion of its having existed many hundred years ago. 
The first authentic accounts however, that we have of 
it was in India, in 1787. 

It continued to prevail more or less in India, excit- 
ing no great fear in other nations, for it was supposed 
to be peculiar only to that country, as we suppose the 
Yellow fever to be peculiar to the southern seaboard, 
until 1817, when the epidemic became alarming, 
spreading over a large portion of India. It attacked 
the English army, then engaged. in subduing India, 
five thousand men of which were cut down in five 
days. In 1818 it became nearly extinct. The next 
year, however, it revived, and in 1820 and 1821 it 
spread over a great part of Asia, Java, and the East 
India islands, and westward through Persia and Asi- 
atic Turkey. In 1823 it first appeared in Europe, in 
Eussia. It seemed to slumber again during the six- 
following years. In 1829 it broke out with fresh vio- 
lence in Persia. In 1830 it became extinct again. 
The following summer it re-appeared on the frontiers 
of Persia and Georgia; it extended northward to the 
Arctic Ocean, and westward through the western divi- 
sions of Eussia and Poland, committing most fearful 
ravages, increasing in power as it progressed. In 
1831 it extended over the most of Europe. 
24 



112 CHOLERA. 

Its ravages were not so dreadful in Europe as in 
Asia. In 1832 it first broke out in Montreal ; thence 
it rapidly spread over the United States. It did not 
seem to be influenced by locality ; the high, the low, 
the dry, the wet, the cold, the warm places seemed to 
be attacked indiscriminately. It was not contagious, 
for physicians and nurses, who were among it con- 
stantly, seemed to be more exempt than any others. 
Some physicians, for an experiment, wore the clothes 
in which patients had died ; they inoculated them- 
selves with the matter of their bodies ; they eat some 
of the excretions of the Cholera patient without any 
bad effect. 

The reason why it prevailed worse in cities than in 
the country was, that the air, water, and food in cities 
are not so healthful as in the country. The constitu- 
tions of city people, from excesses of various kinds, 
are much weaker and not so capable of withstanding 
disease as those of country people ; this is the reason 
why epidemics of all kinds, as well as the Cholera, 
are more fatal in cities than in the country. 

The cause of the disease seemed to be in the atmo- 
sphere. It seemed to prevail more when the east wind 
blew. Many places to which no human being, or ani- 
mal, or article of any kind had arrived from an 
affected district were suddenly desolated by this 
scourge. Its singularity, in spreading itself, seemed 
to justify the theory of many celebrated physicians, 
that the disease was carried by insects through the 
atmosphere. In many places the disease was preceded 
by an unusual number of insects in the air, and by 
great changes in the atmosphere. 

But what is the Cholera ? We know what the symp- 
toms are, but we do not know the cause. Nearly 



CHOLERA. 113 

every one has seen a case of cholera-morbus, that is, a 
violent fit of vomiting and purging attended with a 
clammy, cold sweat and great prostration. Epidemic, 
or as it is more generally called Asiatic Cholera, re- 
sembles cholera-morbus very closely, the Asiatic 
Cholera being much more violent. 

Symptoms of Cholera. — In a great majority of 
cases, the patient is taken a few hours before the 
attack, with a diarrhea; at first the discharges are 
small, they are bilious, attended with some griping; 
they afterward become thin and watery with but little 
odor, and attended with but little pain. These are 
the only unpleasant symptoms the patient feels in the 
first stage; he does not notice them; and here is the 
fatal error. If these first symptoms were properly 
attended to, in nine cases out often, the disease would 
be checked. If, however, these premonitory symp- 
toms are unheeded, the second, or sinking stage 
supervenes. 

Now commence the horrid symptoms of Cholera; 
violent vomiting and purging of a thin substance re- 
sembling rice-water ; cramps of the limbs and stom- 
ach ; in a few hours great prostration ensues ; a cold, 
clammy sweat covers the surface ; the pulse can 
hardly be felt ; the skin and fingers turn blue ; the 
features sink ; the eye is dull ; the voice and hearing 
are lost ; the stomach is so insensible that the most 
violent stimulants have no more effect than they 
would have on a leather pouch ; the suffering stops, 
except a great oppression in the chest and at the pit 
of the stomach ; the eye is turned up and very much 
bloodshot; the spark of Hie seems almost to have 
fled, and indeed in many cases it does depart in this 
stage. 



114 CHOLERA. 

This stage of sinking or collapse lasts from twelve to 
forty-eight hours — the patient being all the while of an 
icy coldness ; if he revives at all, he first complains 
of a pain in the head, a sense of giddiness, and a low 
fever, resembling typhoid fever, sets in, almost as dan- 
gerous as the collapse itself. The teeth become 
covered with a brown sordes ; the tongue is covered 
with a black coat ; the eyes more bloodshot ; the intel- 
lect more torpid ; the discharges from the bowels more 
dark. This stage lasts from a week to ten days ; its 
termination, in a majority of cases, is fatal. Even 
when the patient gets over this stage and is recover- 
ing, he is very liable to a return of the disease from 
the slightest improprieties. The more violent the 
sinking stage or stage of collapse, the more violent 
will be this stage of reaction. In fact, the danger of 
the disease is in proportion to the violence of the 
collapse. 

The appearances on dissection are principally a 
great congestion of blood in the internal organs, the 
brain, the lungs, the liver, and the contents of the 
abdomen generally. 

How to prevent the Cholera. — The means I should 
adopt to prevent the Cholera in my own case, would 
be these: — and from the practical testimony of hun- 
dreds, I should place great confidence in them. I 
should be temperate and regular in all things — in eat- 
ing, in drinking, in clothing, in labor of body and 
mind, and in sleeping. I should endeavor by simple 
diet, by cleanliness, exercise in the open air, and free- 
dom from care, to get my body in as healthy a condi- 
tion as possible. As soon as I heard of the Cholera 
being in my own neighborhood, I should dispense 
with fear as much as possible. I should not go to 



CHOLERA. 115 

taking medicine and living too lightly, nor confining 
myself to the house ; but I would live just as if nothing 
was a-going to happen, and as though I expected to 
live to a green old age. The intemperate, the un- 
cleanly and the fearful, are the first and most hopeless 
victims of Cholera ; recollect this, and act accordingly. 
When the Cholera approached near me, I should 
purify my house and clothing twice a day with Chlo- 
rine gas. I should do this regularly until the pesti- 
lence passed away, which is generally within a month. 

The virtue of Chlorine gas as a preventative, has 
been proved by hundreds of experiments. The use of 
it in this case was suggested by its purifying power in 
other cases. Chlorine gas is produced by mixing 
three parts of common table salt in a glass vessel 
with one part of the black Oxide of Manganese ; then 
pouring two parts of Sulphuric Acid (oil of vitriol) 
mixed with an equal part of water ; a green gas will 
escape, which is Chlorine. Hang your clothes over 
the gas that it may go through them ; and let the gas 
go through every room of the house. The common 
bleaching powder (chloride of lime), or the liquid 
solution of chloride of soda will answer as a substi- 
tute, if the materials for forming chlorine gas cannot 
be obtained. 

We come now to the treatrpent of Cholera, which 
should be known to every individual ; because the dis- 
ease is so sudden that, in many cases, a physician 
cannot be obtained in time to do any good. The 
treatment varies in the first, second, and third stages. 
In times of its prevalence, when each individual is 
liable to an attack, if he is taken with a diarrhea, or 
looseness of the bowels, he had better go to bed at 
once ; keep the surface warm ; take a Warm or Steam- 



116 CHOLERA. 

bath into the water of which some stimulating thing 
may be infused, such as Mustard, Cayenne pepper or 
salt ; the skin should afterward be rubbed thoroughly 
with a coarse tow towel, and the person should go to 
bed ; then, perhaps, it would be best to take a dose of 
ten grains of Calomel and fifteen of Khubarb to clear 
the bowels out. In the second stage, Mustard plasters 
should be applied over the abdomen, frictions with 
mustard should be used on the limbs, with hot appli- 
cations, bottles of hot water or hot bricks. The person 
should be in a bed of warm flannels, while you are 
applying them ; bags of hot Bran or Ashes, should be 
put to the extremities ; the object being to prevent the 
congestion of blood in the internal organs by drawing 
it outward with external irritations : for it is a princi- 
ple in medicine that, wherever the greatest irritation 
is, there will be the greater flow of blood. Give one 
quarter of a grain of Morphia, two or three grains of 
Cayenne pepper, and two grains of Calomel, every 
hour, or more frequently, if necessary, until the 
spasms cease ; then decrease the quantity of morphia ; 
should the weakness be excessive, Brandy toddy should 
be used ; if the discharges from the bowels should 
grow more healthy, the Calomel should be stopped, or 
given in smaller doses. When the system re-acts again 
from the sinking stage and the febrile stage comes 
on, if there is much oppression of the brain, Cupping 
and Blistering on the back of the neck will be useful ; 
give two or three grains of Calomel, every two or 
three hours, until bilious stools are produced. If there 
is a loose> watery diarrhea, combine your Calomel 
with Opium in grain doses ; try and keep the heat of 
the body equable; if one part becomes cold, put warm 
applications to it, and rub it. 



\ 



CHOLERA. 117 

The patient must be very careful when recovering 
from the cholera, that he lives very temperately in 
every respect ; in fact, through the whole of the dis- 
ease, nothing but the most simple articles of diet 
should be taken ; at first, nothing but mucilaginous 
drinks of Slippery-elm or Flax-seed; afterward, of 
Chicken-broth or Beef-tea. 



LECTURE VIIL 

ORGANS AND DISEASES PECULIAR TO THE MALE, 

For the increase of the species, and for a due har- 
mony between the sexes, they are created, each with 
its peculiarities ; which peculiarities would be useless 
or injurious to the individual, if they were not neu- 
tralized by the peculiarities of the individual of the 
opposite sex, with which the individual is connected. 
Thus man is created larger, stronger, with an inherent 
desire of governing in his heart ; his nature is such 
as to be equally powerful at all times ; whereas woman 
is created smaller, weaker, more timid, and with a 
yielding principle in her breast. In a physical and 
mental point of view, she herself is conscious of being 
inferior to her male partner ; hence she willingly sub- 
jects herself to him, and looks to him for protection ; 
beside, she has periods in her life when she is much 
weaker than at others, less capable of being indepen- 
dent of the assistance of others. The peculiarities of 
man, as distinguished from those of woman or she- 
man (as the word literally means), are the largeness 
of his size, a greater muscularity of his flesh, having 
less of fat, and more of muscle, the narrowness of 
his hips, his beard, his voice, and his organs of gen- 
eration. 

The male organs of generation consist of the Penis, 
Testicles, the parts connecting the two and muscles for 
the movement of those parts, The penis is composed 
(118) 



MALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 119 

of a head called the Glans penis, and the body, com- 
posed of three bodies lying parallel to each other, 
of a loose, spongy texture, full of cells. When the 
Penis is not under excitement, it is small and flabby; 
but when the venereal passion is excited, the nerves 
going to a set of muscles connected with the penis are 
excited ; these muscles contract, by which blood is 
injected into the spongy structure of the penis, and 
enlarges it, rendering it capable of being introduced 
into the female organs of generation, by which the 
semen or seed of the male is thrown into the vagina 
and womb of the female : this semen is a white fluid, 
formed by the testicles. There are two little bags 
called Vesiculse Seminales, between the testicles and 
the penis in which the semen is collected as fast as it 
is secreted by the testicles. Around these little bags 
are small muscles, which when they become sufficiently 
irritated by the friction of the penis against the sides 
of the female organs of generation, contract with such 
force as to throw the semen some distance out of the 
penis. It is the presence of the semen in these little 
bags, in connection with the venereal passion, that 
excites the penis to become erect : for when these little 
bags are emptied of their contents, the penis will not 
become erect until more semen has been poured into 
them from the testicles. 

The diseases to which the male organs are subjected, 
are, Inflammation of the Testicles from injuries and 
from measles ; Hydrocele or an accumulation of water 
in the testicles ; a hardening of the testicles, and the 
two Venereal diseases vulgarly call the Clap and the 
Pox ; the former, called by physicians Gonorrhea, is 
a running of matter from the Penis, producing Stric- 
tures or difficulty of voiding urine, ulcerations, irnpo- 
25 



120 VENEREAL DISEASES. 

tence, and other bad consequences ; the latter, called 
Syphilis, is distinguished by sores, resembling small- 
pox sores, coming on the Penis, rapidly enlarging, and 
if not cured, the glands in the groin ulcerating, and 
afterward the glands of the throat, and the nose be- 
coming eaten away. Both these diseases are caused 
by having connection with a female who has them. 
The matter of the specific disease only can communi- 
cate the same disease. Whichever disease the female 
has, the male will take ; if she has both, the male 
may take both. In the same manner, the male can 
communicate the disease to the female. It seems to 
be a punishment instituted bj T Nature, to prevent the 
indiscriminate mixture of the sexes of the human spe- 
cies , for these loathsome diseases are seldom, if ever 
known, where the bonds of matrimony are duly ob- 
served. And here, do we find a law of God most 
fearfully verified ; for literally are the sins of the pa- 
rents visited on their children, to the third and fourth 
generation. 

When a person is taken with Gonorrhea or Clap, a 
running of matter from the Penis, he should immedi- 
ately go to bed and keep still ; take an active dose of 
Salts ; live on the lightest diet ; take no drink but 
Cold water. He should keep on the Penis a wet Rag, 
so as to keep it cool. In a couple of days, if it has 
not passed away, inject into the Penis, pressing one 
finger on the root of the Penis, so that the injection 
will not go into the bladder, a solution of Nitrate of 
Silver, two grains to an ounce of Rain water ; give 
internally a tablespoonful of the powder of Cubebs, 
and twenty-five drops of the Balsam of Copaiva three 
times a-day. If Strictures occur after Gonorrhea, 
attended with a difficulty of passing water, they must 



VENEREAL DISEASES. 121 

be enlarged, by passing gradually in the Penis, Bougies 
or straight sticks of slippery Elm bark, made very 
smooth, (moistened first in water), of the size to pass 
through the stricture ; let it remain in the Urethra 
half an hour every day ; make the Bougie a little 
larger, until it is the size of the opening in the un- 
strictured part of the Penis. No violence must, be 
used in introducing it. 

Manner of introducing the Bougie. — Take hold of 
the Penis with the thumb and finger of the left hand, 
draw it out, and let the Bougie gently pass in, until 
it meets with a resistance, then hold the Penis down, 
and the Bougie will pass into the bladder. This is the 
way — a small, elastic, hollow tube, called a Catheter, 
is introduced into the bladder, when the mouth of the 
bladder is contracted, so that the water cannot pass out, 
or where the mouth is obstructed by a stone in the 
bladder, in order to draw the urine off. 

Syphilis or Pox is characterized by contagious sores, 
first occurring on the Penis, resembing very much the 
sores of the small-pox, coming like Gonorrhea, a few 
days after having had connection with a person having 
the disease. 

When the sores first appear on the Penis, generally 
on the head of the Penis, they should be cauterized 
with a stick of Lunar Caustic, washing the pits 
thoroughly with Warm water ; then take a little Lint 
dipped in Wine, and put on the head of the Penis ; 
draw the foreskin over it ; change the Lint and wash 
the part four or five times a-day. This Treatment, if 
taken in time, will almost invariably cure the disease 
at once, as 1 have seen tested in a number of instances. 

When hard lumps, called Buboes, occur in the 
groins, cold applications and compression by bandages 



122 IMPOTENCE. 

passed around the body with a hard cushion over the 
swelling, should be used, together with repeated in- 
unction with Mercurial ointment. If it is not bene- 
fited by this, Blisters should be used over the swellings. 
These swellings in the groins, indicate that the vene- 
real poison has been absorbed, and taken to the glands 
situated in the groins. But when the disease gets 
into the general system, which is indicated by little 
swellings in the back of the neck, soreness of the 
throat, or an eruption of the skin, Mercury should 
be used immediately ; give one grain of the Proto- 
chloride of Mercury three times a-day, until the gums 
become a little sore ; use Sarsaparilla freely, at the 
same time; anoint the swollen parts with blue Mer- 
curial ointment ; if hard lumps come on the bones, 
the shin bones for instance, use Mercurial ointment, 
and bandage the leg from the toe upward. When the 
disease has been in the system for a long time, and 
ugly sores appear in various parts of the body, let the 
diet be light; dress the sores with blue Mercurial 
ointment, and take twice daily three tablespoonfuls of 
the following Syrup : Make a strong tea of Sarsapar- 
illa, mix it with molasses, to make it palatable, put in 
a pint of this, a drachm of the Hydriodate of Potassa, 
or two grains of Corrosive Sublimate ; use the Sul- 
phur-bath, and afterward, the Salt-bath once a- week. 

IMPOTENCE OR WEAKNESS OF THE ORGANS OF 
GENERATION. 

Get the general system into as healthy and rugged 
a condition as possible, by simple diet, exercise in the 
open air, and a proper regime in every respect. Then 
use stimulating frictions about the lower part of the 
abdomen frequently ; perhaps small blisters of Flies ; 



FEMALE ORGANS OP GENERATION. 123 

take from ten to twenty drops of the Tincture of 
Spanish Flies internally, three times a-day. Relax 
from the sterner studies and duties of life, and attend 
more to the softer ones. The propriety of reading 
loose novels, attending balls and theatres for this weak- 
ness, is very questionable. A man is seldom afflicted 
with impotence, if he lives temperately in all things, 
from his youth upward. Too great excess in Yenery, 
and particularly that bad habit of self-pollution, called 
Onanism or Masturbation, brings on impotence of the 
generative and mental powers oftener than any other 
cause. 

Hydrocele is a collection of water in the testicle; if 
it cannot be removed by compressing the testicle, by 
drawing strips of adhesive plaster tightly around it; 
it should be punctured with an instrument called a 
Trochar, and some stimulating substance injected 
with a Syringe, as diluted wine ; in children, simply 
pressing up the fluid into the abdomen, and using a 
compress, or, at most, letting the fluid out, will cure 
it. The testicle is sometimes the seat of cancer, in 
which case, extirpation is necessary. 

FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

The Female Organs of Generation are divided into 
the external and internal organs. The external are 
found in and around the external opening, called the 
Vulva. They are the Mons Veneris, the greater and 
lesser lips of the Vulva, the Clitoris, and the Hymen. 
The Mons Veneris is a cushion-like protuberance at 
the upper part, covering the Os Pubis. The greater 
lips form the outer sides of the Vulva. The Mons 
Veneris and greater lips are covered with hair after 
puberty, to prevent chafing of the parts. The lesser 



124 FEMALE ORGANS OP GENERATION. 

or inner lips are concealed by the outer lips in the 
Virgin. The Clitoris is a small teat suspended from 
the upper part of the Vulva, less than an inch in 
length. The Hymen exists sometimes in the Virgin, 
but not always ; its absence is not positive evidence 
of a loss of virginity. It consists of a delicate mem- 
brane drawn across the lower part of the external 
opening of the Vagina. 

The internal Organs of Generation in the female, 
consist of the Vagina, Uterus, Fallopian tubes, and 
the Ovaria. The Vagina is the passage from the 
Vulva to the Uterus ; it is about an inch in diameter, 
and from three to five inches in length in the virgin. 

The Uterus or womb is a muscular pouch in the 
shape of a flattened pear, the small end opening down- 
ward into the Vagina, and its large end suspended in 
the cavity of the pelvis, by two ligaments on each 
side. From the inner and upper part of the Uterus 
go two little tubes, one from each side, the Fallopian 
tubes ; they are from four to five inches in length, 
and about the size of a goose-quill; they are open and 
fringe-like at the outer extremity. One of these 
fringes is fastened to an oval-shaped body, about the 
size and shape of an almond, called the Ovarium ; and 
the two, one on each side of the Uterus, are called the 
Ovaria or receptacles of eggs. Each Ovarium contains 
from fifteen to 'twenty minute vesicles, the germs of 
future human beings. When impregnation takes 
place, the Semen goes up the Uterus, up the Fallopian 
tube, and excites one of these little vesicles to germi- 
nate or to commence being developed into a human 
being. When a vesicle is excited in this way, it en- 
larges, and leaves the Ovarium or body to which it is 
attached, and goes down the little tube, called the 



IMPREGNATION, OR FORMATION OF THE CHILD. 125 

Fallopian tube, into the womb, becoming enveloped 
as it goes down, with membranes which become 
attached to the inside of the womb, forming the con- 
nection between the mother and child. 

The child increases in size, also the womb and the 
membranes that connect the child with the womb. 
The Menses or monthly discharges from the womb 
resembling blood, cease. When the woman is preg- 
nant she has many curious symptoms, such as Morning 
Sickness, Toothache, singular tastes and diseases. 

The child continues in the sack of the membrane, 
surrounded with water, and connected with the thicker 
parts of the membrane (which is glued fast as it were 
to the inside of the womb,) by the umbilical or Navel 
Cord. The membranes on the inside of the womb 
become changed into a thick, spongy matter, called 
the Placenta or Afterbirth. This is full of blood which 
comes from the mother, and which goes through a ves- 
sel in the navel cord to nourish the child. 

Recollect, that the blood goes from this Placenta or 
afterbirth, fastened to the inside of the womb to the 
child, through a vessel in the umbilical or navel cord. 
The blood goes through to the heart of the child, 
which contracts and sends it through the whole body 
to nourish it, and then it is returned again to the 
Placenta by two vessels, also in the umbilical cord, 
to be purified. For you must know that the blood of 
the child cannot be purified in its lungs, as after birth, 
because it does not breathe in the womb. At the end 
of nine months the bag of waters is broken, and the 
child is expelled, when it breathes for the first time, 
and the circulation of blood between the child and the 
placenta, and through this to the mother, ceases. A 



126 CHILDBIRTH. 

few minutes after the child is expelled, this spongy 
substance, the Placenta, is expelled also; the child and 
the placenta are expelled by the contractions of the 
womb itself, which continues contracting until it be- 
comes a small, round ball, felt by pressing on the 
abdomen. 

When the Womb does not properly contract after 
delivery, there is danger of fatal bleeding ; in which 
case the woman may die in a few hours. Under such 
circumstances cold applications should be placed on 
the abdomen and injected up the vagina, to produce a 
proper contraction of the womb. In a majority of 
cases, if a woman is left entirely to nature, she will 
get through as well as with the assistance of a midwife 
or physician. I believe that more harm is done by the 
officiousness of physicians, and particularly by inex- 
perienced mid wives, than good. 

It is well for the physician to see that the bowels 
and bladder are emptied at the commencement of 
labor; and when the Cutting-pains, as they are called, 
come on, it is well for him, by passing his finger 
gently up the vagina, to see that the right part of the 
child is coming down first — that is, the head — and in 
the right position, and that the parts of the mother 
are of the proper size, and the soft parts sufficiently 
dilated. In most cases nothing else is necessary to be 
done but to support the parts just behind the external 
opening of the vagina with a towel, when the head 
of the child comes into the world, to prevent them 
from being torn. By all means do not hurry the mat- 
ter ; let nature take its course. 

If by stimulants and the unnecessary exertions of 
the mother the child is hurried into the world, and 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 127 

the Afterbirth is forcibly taken away, the parts, not 
having had time to dilate, will be much more likely 
to be bruised and torn. 

After delivery, if the Uterus does not contract so as 
to feel like a hard ball under the hand, violent hemor- 
rhage or flooding is apt to ensue. An effort must be 
made to stimulate it to contract by grasping it w T ith 
the hand over the lower part of the abdomen, and by 
putting cold cloths suddenly over the region of the 
uterus ; if this fail, and the bleeding continue, the 
vagina must be plugged with soft cotton rags. 

Childbed Fever is to be dreaded after delivery; treat 
it as an Inflammatory fever ; keep flannels wrung out 
of hot water over the bowels. If the woman be 
plethoric, frequent Cupping over the lower part of the 
abdomen and small of the back may be necessary. 

After birth, when you can feel the pulsations of the 
Cord no longer, tie it in two places, about three inches 
from the child, and cut the cord off between the knots ; 
dress the child without much washing, and put it to 
the breast within five hours. The woman seldom 
requires stimulating drinks, unless she is very weakly 
and has been in labor more than eighteen or twenty 
hours. Women are subject to more diseases pertain- 
ing to the organs of generation, than men. They are 
subject to the venereal diseases, Syphilis, and Gonor- 
rhea, and diseases of the Urinary organs, the Bladder 
and Kidneys, all of which are to receive the same 
general treatment as in men. 

DERANGEMENTS OF THE UTERINE SYSTEM OR OF THE 
FUNCTIONS OF THE WOMB. 

At the age of from fourteen to eighteen the Monthly 
discharges from the Womb generally commence in this 



128 SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES. 

country. The age at which these ^lonthly flows com- 
mence, differs in different climates. In cold climates 
it does not commence till near the twentieth year ; in 
warm climates it not unfrequently commences at 
twelve and thirteen. If these Monthly discharges do 
not commence at the ordinary period of life, the 
mother is apt to be alarmed for the welfare of her 
daughter, and resorts to stimulating medicines to force 
on the flow : this is wrong. If the girl is otherwise 
healthy, let her alone ; nature will attend to it in due 
time. If, however, the girl is sickly, and her sickness 
is probably produced by the non-appearance of the 
Menses, she should change her manner of living: 
for this state is most always produced by impro- 
prieties in living, too stimulating food, and too little 
exercise. 

The girl should live in the country ; exercise a great 
deal in the open air, especially on horseback ; live 
temperately ; if her bowels are deranged, she might 
take three or four pills a day of Aloes, Slackened 
Copperas, and Gum Myrrh. Where the girl has had 
her Monthly flows, and they stop suddenly — for in- 
stance, from exposing herself to wet and cold, at the 
monthly period — she should, in the morning, take an 
active purge of Aloes, and Compound Extract of 
Colocynth, living very light through the day ; at night 
she should steam the lower part of her body and hips 
over a pan of hot water, in which might be put some 
stimulating herbs, as Mustard, Snake-root, or Smart- 
weed ; at the same time, drinking a tea of Senega 
Snake-root, then go to bed, and it will probably have 
the desired effect. 

If her Menses have been stopped for a long time, 
and she has become much weakened ; in short, if she 



GREEN SICKNESS — LEUCORRHEA. 129 

has what is called Green sickness (too great confine- 
ment in warm rooms is most frequently the cause), 
the best remedies are a mild but nutritious diet, 
exercise on horseback, and Pills composed of equal 
parts of Aloes, Slacked Copperas (or Sulphate of Iron, 
as physicians call it), and Gum Myrrh ; take from two 
to four pills of these three times a day. The Salt-bath 
should be used once a week, and frictions with coarse 
flannels, every morning, about the region of the 
womb. 

Instead of a stoppage of the monthly flow, there is 
sometimes too great a flow. At the first stage of the 
flow, as it is generally owing to too great an excite- 
ment of the system, Cup freely over the abdomen and 
give Salts ; then apply cold applications, cloths dipped 
in cold water over the womb. If the flow still conti- 
nues to be much more than natural, inject a weak cold 
solution of Sugar of Lead — a teaspoonful of Lead to a 
pint of Kain water — or a weak solution of Alum ; give 
two or three grains of Sugar of Lead, with one-fourth 
of a grain of Opium, every two hours, till the dis- 
charge is lessened. 

LEUCORRHEA. 

Leucorrhea, vulgarly called Whites, is a discharge 
of thin mucous matter from the vagina. If the patient 
be robust and healthy it will be necessary to reduce 
her system ; but if she be debilitated, give her tonics 
of Iron ; from ten to fifteen grains of the Carbonate 
of Iron, three times a day, or from twenty to thirty 
drops of the Muriated Tincture of Iron, using at the 
same time Injections of Cold Water or Sugar of Lead 
water, and perhaps a small Blister over the lower part 
of the abdomen. 

Some women have much pain at the time of their 



130 FALLING OF THE WOMB — MORBID GROWTHS. 

monthly flow ; the best preventative of this is, in the 
intervals of the periods, to take mild purges and 
plenty of exercise in the open air. Guaiacum, Dover 
Powder, and tin Hip-bath will allay the pain at the 
time. 

Sometimes the womb falls down into the vagina, 
and even passes out of it between the thighs ; this is 
often produced by the cruel officiousness of the igno- 
rant midwife or physician, who draws away the after- 
birth too forcibly and with it the womb. When it falls 
down in this manner, it must be carefully returned; 
the woman must lie still on her back for several days, 
and live very light. When a woman has been subject 
to it for sometime, she must live light, be careful to 
keep her bowels regularly open, and perhaps it will 
be necessary to pass up a piece of sponge and let it 
remain in the womb at its mouth ; inject, once a day, 
into the womb, at the same time, a cold, weak solu- 
tion of Sugar of Lead, Alum, or ooze of Oak-bark. 

Morbid growths, such as Tumors or Polypi, are not 
unfrequently found in the Uterus. If cold astringent 
Injections will not remove them, an operation may be 
necessary. 

The Uterus may be the seat of cancer ; it has been 
extirpated successfully for this disease. 



MATE RIA M E D I CA. 



LECTURE IX. 

I shall include under this head all that pertains to 
eating, drinking, clothing, exercise, cleanliness, and 
other minutise for preserving the body in a healthy 
condition. 

The food, in a healthy condition of the body, should 
be of a simple, nutritive character ; varying, as to 
quantity, in proportion to the size and exertion of the 
individual. But one kind of meat, one kind of bread, 
and one kind of the common vegetables of the table 
should be used at a meal. Preserves, stimulating con- 
diments, pickles, and desse>ts are not only useless, but 
highly injurious to the stomach of a healthy person ; 
and they cannot be indulged in long without serious 
injury to the system. 

The food should not be eaten hot. It should be 
well chewed and moistened with the saliva or juice of 
the mouth, and not washed down with copious 
draughts of hot tea and coffee, as it generally is. The 
best drink, the only drink that man should use, is cool 
water or milk. A marked freshness and healthful- 
ness shows itself in the countenances of those using no 
other beverage. 

(131) 



132 FOOD — DRIN K — EXERCISE — CLEANLINESS . 

Hot stimulating food, as hot stimulating drinks, 
only borrow strength from the latent resources of the 
body to be repaid with interest, five or six hours after 
date ; leaving the body finally weaker than if unstinm- 
lating food had been used. The natural appetite is 
destroyed by substituting these stimulants for it, and 
disease is more likely to be generated. I have not 
room to dwell on these points, so essential to good 
health, I have only to say, try the simple course of 
diet here recommended, for a term of three or four 
weeks, and you will become convinced of its utility. 

A natural and pleasant degree of warmth should be 
maintained by sufficient clothing, and more particu- 
larly by active exercise, which is a better generator of 
warmth than too much clothing or fire. Nothing is 
more fruitful of rheumatic diseases than standing 
round idly on a cold, damp day ; it is much better to 
stir about and keep the system in a glow. Sudden 
changes from a cold to a hot temperature, or from a 
hot to a cold one should be avoided. A free circula- 
tion of fresh air is also absolutely necessary to our 
physical and mental well-being. Exercise of the body 
and mind should be temperate and regular, alternated 
with a due proportion of rest and sleep. 

Cleanliness of the surface of the body, as well as 
of the clothing, is not only necessary for good looks 
and comfort, but also for good health. The entire 
surface of the body should be washed regularly once 
a week, at least. 

The bowels should be regularly evacuated. Times 
for their evacuation should be attended to as regularly 
as meal -times. Equanimity or evenness of the mind 
has a great power in producing a corresponding regu- 
larity in the body. All the bad and unnatural habits 



REGIME FOR THE SICK. 133 

of the day should be carefully avoided, such as the 
use of ardent spirits, gambling, smoking, chewing, 
snuffing, masturbation, adultery, the use of tea and 
coffee, tight clothing and the thousand other follies of 
modern times, that interfere in various ways with the 
natural and healthy action of the body. 

When a person is sick, a proper diet and regimen 
are the most potent means for bringing about a reco- 
very. In fact, I believe that these alone, if used in 
time, would prevent and cure one-half of our ailments. 
When you have a fever use no food or that of the most 
simple kind, such as toast-water, riee-w r ater, or thin 
gruel made of Indian meal and water, until the fever 
subsides. In fever, where there is irritation or inflam- 
mation of the stomach, your accustomed food would 
prove a great source of harm. In inflammatory affec- 
tions of the bowels, lungs, or urinary organs, mucila- 
ginous drinks alone should be taken at first, such as 
Slippery-elm w T ater or Flax-seed water. In violent 
inflammation of any part, a light diet should be used. 
Cool drinks may be given in every case where there 
is a fever, with the tepid bath. When a person is 
recovering from sickness, broths made of chicken or 
beef, with light bread, may be used. 

Persons afflicted with a chronic or long standing 
disease, must live as light as their strength will allow. 
Dyspeptics, in particular, should use simple and coarse 
food, plenty of exercise in the open air and frictions 
of the skin either with the salt-bath, flesh-brush, or 
coarse towel. Consumptive patients should use a 
more nutritious diet. They should clothe themselves 
w T ith flannel next the skin, and ride much OD horse- 
back when the disease is in its first stage. Removal 
to a warm climate, when the symptoms of consumption 



134 MEANS FOR QUICKLY REDUCING THE SYSTEM. 

first appear, will frequently ward off this dread 
disease. 

MEANS FOR QUICKLY REDUCING THE SYSTEM. 
BLOOD-LETTING. 

Where there is a violent fever in a strong, robust 
person, or where congestion of blood in some internal 
organ, as the brain, lungs, or bowels, is likely to take 
place, Blood-letting is necessary, and more particu- 
larly if the locality in which the person lives, is a 
healthy one ; such locality always indicating the ab- 
straction of blood more than a locality where fever 
and ague and bilious fevers prevail. Blood-letting 
under such circumstances, shortens fever, terminates 
inflammation most favorably, and prevents congestion. 

When the disease first sets in, bleeding should be 
performed from a vein at the bend of the elbow ; the 
vein being rendered full and turgid by a narrow ban- 
dage being drawn tightly around the arm above the 
elbow. A common thumb-lancet is the best instru- 
ment for this purpose. The person being bled should 
be in a sitting or standing posture, and should be bled 
until a faintness is produced ; then untie the bandage 
quickly, bind a compress over the orifice, and let the 
person lie down with the head full as low as the body. 
The compress is made by folding a piece of muslin 
six or eight double. From half a pint to a quart is 
generally sufficient to be taken from a grown person . 
If the person should faint after being laid down, 
sprinkle cold water in his face and apply Camphor or 
Hartshorn to the nose. It is frequently necessary, 
where one bleeding does not subdue the fever or in- 
flammation, to repeat it in the course of twenty-four 
or forty -eight hours. 



CUPPING — DISEASES INDICATING BLOOD-LETTING. 135 

Where the symptoms of the patient are not so vio- 
lent, where the patient is weakly, where the disease 
has existed for some time, or where the system has 
been reduced by a previous bleeding, and more parti- 
cularly where there is pain or oppression in some 
internal organ, Cups or Leeches are the better means 
of abstracting blood. You can cup very well with 
common tumblers and a sharp razor. Hold the tum- 
bler in your left hand, set fire to a piece of newspaper 
with your right ; when the newspaper is in a blaze, 
throw it in the tumbler and immediately clap the tum- 
bler on the part to be cupped, so that no air will get 
under the edge of the tumbler. When the tumbler 
has drawn ten or fifteen minutes, take it off, cut three 
or four gashes with the razor, and put the cup on 
again until it has drawn all it will. An instrument, 
called the Scarificator, is better for making the gashes 
with than the razor. Leeches are the best means for 
drawing blood from young children. 

The following diseases generally require large ab- 
stractions of blood from the arm : Apoplexy, Violent 
fever, Child-bed fever, Inflammation of the brain, 
Pleurisy, Inflammation of the Peritoneum or mem- 
brane covering the bowels, Active Inflammation of the 
lungs, liver, and kidneys. The following diseases 
require a less abstraction of blood, and in most cases 
can be cured without any bleeding at all. The com- 
mencement of mild Intermittent and Remittent fevers, 
or fevers attended with an eruption, as Measles, Sear- 
let fever, Small-pox, and Chicken-pox. 

It is sometimes necessary to bleed in Rheumatism, 

Bronchitis, Inflammation of the stomach and bowels. 

In many of these affections, especially if some internal 

organ is affected, cupping will answer the ptvpos • 

26 



136 DISEASES — INDICATIONS — BLOOD-LETTING 

best. Cupping on the nape of the neck, and between 
the shoulders will frequently relieve disorders of the 
head and breast, when other means fail. 

When a large limb, as the arm or leg, has been out 
of joint for some time, and the muscles have become 
contracted so as to render it difficult to set the limb, 
by bleeding the person, while sitting in a Warm-bath, 
till he faints, the muscles will become so relaxed as to 
admit of the limb being reduced. 

In Spasmodic colic, where the muscles of the 
bowels are so contracted as to prevent an evacuation, 
bleeding will sometimes open the bowels after the 
most drastic purgatives have been used to no purpose. 

I well recollect the case of Mr. B., of Cincinnati, 
who was attacked most violently with this species of 
colic ; the most powerful physic had no effect ; mor- 
tification threatened. No sooner was he bled to faint- 
ing, than he had a passage from the bowels, and was 
immediately relieved. 

When the Febrile or inflammatory symptoms are 
not very violent, Blood-letting should give way to 
other reducing remedies, such as Emetics, Cathartics, 
the Warm-bath, and in some instances, where there is 
a good deal of nervous irritability, Opium. During 
a practice of eight years in a bilious district, where 
the system becomes debilitated by the poisonous 
miasms, I have seldom found it necessary to use the 
Lancet. But I have used Cups more frequently. 

EMETICS. 

Emetics are those medicines that excite vomiting. 
They are useful, where there is some indigestible sub- 
stance lying in the stomach, producing an uneasy sen- 
sation there, or sick headache, or other unpleasant 



EMETICS IN FEVER, LUNG COMPLAINTS, CROUP. 137 

feelings in the general system. Emetics would do 
good in the beginning of most febrile diseases. 

The best emetic in this case, is two grains of Tar- 
tar-emetic, mixed with twenty grains of Ipecac. Put 
this powder in six tablespoonfuls of Warm water, and 
give one tablespoonful every five or ten minutes, until 
vomiting is produced ; then give copious draughts of 
Warm water, so as to thoroughly cleanse out the 
stomach. Emetics are useful where poisons have been 
taken into the stomach. Here, you want a speedy 
emetic, and none answers the purpose better than the 
Sulphate of Zinc, commonly called White Vitriol ; 
a dose, is twenty grains, dissolved in a teacupful of 
Warm water. In affections of the chest, particularly 
in Asthma, an emetic of Lobelia or Squills is best. 
A dose of powdered Lobelia, is fifteen grains, of the 
Tincture, one teaspoonful. The dose for Squills, is 
about the same. 

The best emetic for children, is Ipecac, given in 
doses of from two to ten grains. In Croup, emetics 
are the sheet anchor of hope ; keep the child nause- 
ated constantly until the croup goes away. A plaster 
of snuff' kept around the neck, will assist the nause- 
ants in this disease. 

In consumption, where there is a difficulty in throw- 
ing up the matter, an emetic of three grains of the 
Sulphate of Copper or Blue Stone, dissolved in a tea- 
cupful of water, is highly recommended. 

In the beginning of fever, particularly where the 
liver is inactive, which is known by a yellowness of 
the skin and tongue, with a bitter taste in the mouth, 
and a high-colored urine, an emetic of six grains of 
Tartar-emetic dissolved in six tablespoonfuls of Warm 
water should be given, using a tablespoonful every ten 



138 RULE FOR DOSES OF MEDICINE. 

minutes till it operates. Tobacco, Mustard, Blood- 
root, and common Salt are sometimes used as emetics. 
Mustard in the dose of a tablespoonful, ground, in a 
cup of Warm water, is veiy good, just before a chill 
of the fever and ague is expected. A drachm of 
Tabacco, dissolved in a pint of water, may be injected 
into the bowels, where great prostration is required, 
as in obstinate colic, and in the reduction of limbs 
long out of joint. A plaster of Tobacco laid over the 
stomach will assist the operation of an emetic very 
much. 

The doses of medicines here given, are intended for 
grown persons, unless children are specified. Chil- 
dren about ten years old, should have half the dose 
of a grown person. Children five years old, a quarter. 
Children two years old and under, an eighth of a dose 
for an adult. Some strong, robust persons may require 
more than the quantities here mentioned ; and some 
older persons of weak constitution may require less. 
This general rule should be borne in mind, in the ad- 
ministration of all other medicines, as well as emetics. 

Emetics are very potent remedies, used in doses not 
large enough to vomit, but just large enough to keep 
the patient sick at the stomach ; most every case of 
mild fever can be subdued by this course alone. For 
this purpose, dissolve six grains of Tartar-emetic in 
half a pint of Warm water ; give a tablespoonful, or 
more, or less, as the case nj^y require, every hour, so as 
to keep the patient slightly sick at the stomach, until 
there is a moisture on the skin, and the fever is broke. 
Nauseants supersede the necessity of blood-letting in 
nearly all mild cases of fever. What are called Ni- 
trous Powders, are almost a certain cure for the mild 
bilious fever ; they are composed of ten grains of 



CATHARTICS. 139 

Nitre (Saltpetre), two grains of Calomel and an 
eighth of a grain of Tartar-emetic ; one to be given 
in a little honey or thick cream every two hours, till 
the fever goes off. For nauseating children, Ipecac, 
is the best; it is very useful in whooping-cough, 
croup, bad colds, and where there is fever from almost 
any cause. 

CATHARTICS. 

Cathartics are those medicines that produce increased 
discharges from the bowels. The action of the differ- 
ent medicines used as cathartics, is very different, 
both as to the severity of their action, and as to the 
nature of the discharges they produce. 

Cathartics are indicated where there is a costive 
state of the bowels, where the discharges are unhealthy, 
where we want to reduce the system, and where there 
is an inflammation in some other part, and we want 
to draw the irritation from the inflamed part to the 
bowels. 

Cathartics are indicated in a greater number 
of diseases than any other class of medicines. A too 
long use of them, however, will do injury, producing 
inflammation and ulceration of the bow r els. Cathar- 
tics should be used with the greatest caution, where 
there is inflammation of the stomach or bowels ; 
which can be detected by a burning pain in the belly, 
increased by pressing on it with the hand. Injectious 
are the best means for opening the bowels, where 
there is inflammation of the stomach or upper bow 
If there is inflammation of the lower bowel, produc- 
ing the disease called Dysentery, the bowels should bo 
once thoroughly opened by some mild cathartic, and 
then no other purge should be given for some time, 
but rather inject, in small quantities, some sooth i 



140 MILD AND ACTIVE CATHARTICS. 

substance up the anus, half a teacupful of Starch water, 
mixed with forty drops of Laudanum. 



MILD CATHARTICS. 

Where a simple operation of the bowels is required, 
give two tablespoonsful of Castor oil with a teaspoon- 
ful of Turpentine; or two tablespoonsful of Epsom 
Salts with about the same quantity of Senna leaves, 
steeped in half a pint of boiling water. Pills made 
of equal parts of Aloes, Rhubarb, and Castile Soap, 
mixed up with an extract made by boiling the inner 
bark of White Walnut (Butternut) down to a jelly, 
make a good cathartic. May apple-root, Sulphur and 
Sugar-house Molasses and Mustard, are mild laxatives. 
Rhubarb root, chewed constantly, is good to counter- 
act habitual costiveness. 

MORE ACTIVE CATHARTICS. 

Aloes, Colocynth, and Gamboge, of each, three 
parts, Cayenne pepper one part, make it into pills 
with Molasses, first having pulverized and mixed them 
thoroughly. Take of these four every four hours 
until they operate. The following is used as a com- 
mon cathartic pill at the Commercial Hospital, Cin- 
cinnati : Aloes, Colocynth, and Scammony, of each, 
three parts, Red pepper one part, made into pills and 
taken as the above. 

In Dropsy, where a watery discharge is required, 
Cream of Tartar one hundred grains, with Jalap 
twenty grains, given two or three times a day. The 
following is the composition of " Brandreth's Pills:" 
Colocynth four ounces, Aloes two pounds, Castile 
Soap half a pound. Oil of Peppermint two drachms, 



mokrison's, and other pills. 141 



Oil of Anise one drachm, the whole to be ground up 
very fine and made into pills with syrup or paste. 

The following is the composition of u Morrison's 
Pills," No. 2: Aloes three parts, Colocynth one part, 
Gamboge one and a half parts, Cream of Tartar half a 
part, Ginger half a part, made into pills. 

Morrison's No. 1 Pills : Gamboge half a part, Aloes 
three quarters of a part. Cream of Tartar three quar- 
ters of a part, made up as the above. 

Where the Liver is inactive, cathartics with some 
peparation of mercury are best, to excite again the 
secretion of Bile, which is the natural purgative of 
the system. A mild purgative of this kind is com- 
posed of equal parts of Aloes, Ehubarb, and Blue 
Mass, made into pills ; five or six of which may be 
taken every four hours until they operate. If the 
patient is hard to be operated on, substitute Calomel 
for the Blue Mass. In Colic, the Oil of Peppermint, 
or Cinnamon, or Turpentine, should be combined with 
the cathartic. Where there are Spasms or violent 
Griping, combined with Assafoetida, Soap, Extract of 
Hyoscyamus or a few drops of Laudanum. Where 
there is acidity of the stomach, with Carbonate of 
Soda. 

The following is a tonic or strengthening cathartic, 
good for costive persons, who are weakly : Aloes two 
drachms, Gum Myrrh one drachm, Cayenne Pepper 
one scruple, Quinine one scruple, made into pills and 
taken two or three times a day so as to keep the 
bowels regular. 

The following pills are very useful to girls and 
women who are weakly and irregular in their monthly 
courses : Aloes and Myrrh two parts of each, one part 



142 DRASTIC CATHARICS— CATHARTIC INJECTIONS. 

of the Sulphate of Iron (copperas) made into pills : 
take five or six a day. 

DRASTIC OR POWERFUL CATHARTICS. 

Croton oil, given in obstinate costiveness, on sugar. 
In Apoplexy, by dropping on the tongue. Dose from 
two to eight drops. Eleterium or wild Cucumber, 
given in Dropsy. Dose from half a grain to two 
grains of the powder. Scammony, Colocynth, and 
Gamboge are Drastic purgatives. This class of cathar- 
tics are useful in the obstinate costiveness that some- 
time occurs in Delirium Tremens, Insanity, and Ob- 
stinate Torpor of the Bowels. 

CATHARTIC INJECTIONS. 

In order to assist the operation of cathartics given 
by the mouth, or where it is inadvisable to give 
them by the mouth on account of there being irrita- 
tion or inflammation of the stomach or upper bowels, 
or where it is impossible to get the medicines down 
the throat from spasm or swelling of the parts, Injec- 
tions are invaluable remedies. The injection of a pint 
or more of warm water, mixed with a little common 
salt, will generally be sufficient, or it may be mixed 
with some Soft soap. A Stimulating injection can 
be made by beating up a tablespoonful of Turpentine 
with the yelk of an egg^ and then mixing this with a 
pint of warm water. Simply putting a piece of hard 
soap up the anus will produce an operation. 

CATHARTICS FOR INFANTS. 

Molasses or Brown sugar, Ehubarb and Magnesia, 
from two to five grains of each mixed together and 



CATHARTICS FOR INFANTS — DIAPHORETICS. 143 

given in a tablespoonful of molasses. Castor oil a 
teaspoonful, Sweet oil two teaspoonsful. If there is 
Wind collected in the Bowels, 'a little Peppermint 
Essence should be added. Injections can be given 
also with care. Where a syringe is not at hand, an 
injection can be given with a bladder, to the mouth oi 
which is fastened a small tube or gooso quill. 

DIAPHORETICS. 

Diaphoretics are such means as produce an increased 
action of the Skin, in other w^rdrj, sweating. Now 
the pores of the skin can be closed up by filth, fever, 
cold, and a congestion of blood within. 

The system must be got into a certain healthy con- 
dition before the secretions of the Skin (the sweat) or 
of the glands of the body, wall be properly poured 
forth. Hence the best diaphoretic, when there is fever 
and a dryness of the skin, is something to reduce the 
excessive action of the heart, when the sweat will 
break out of itself. Blood-letting can be used to 
accomplish this, if the case be urgent ; nanseants of 
Tartar-emetic and Ipecac, dissolved in water, and 
given in sufficient quantity to keep the patient sick at 
the stomach. Putting the patient in a Warm-bath or 
Steaming him, or wrapping him up in a wet Sheet, 
will greatly assist the other means for starting the 
perspiration. "Where all these means have been used 
without effect, and the patient is restless, nervous, and 
sleepless, a large dose of Opium will frequently have 
the most desirable effect. The best form of giving it 
in this case is to give it in the form of Dover's Pow- 
ders, from ten to twenty grains. 



27 



144: perspiration; how produced. 

doyer's powders 
Are composed of Opium one part, Ipecac, one part, 
Sulphate of Potassa eight parts, ground finely to- 
gether. The Sassafras root, used as a tea, makes a 
good diaphoretic ; also, the sweet Spirits of Nitre, in 
doses of from twenty to thirty drops, repeated every two 
hours. 

Where the perspiration is suppressed by a suddetf" 
cold, producing an oppression of the lungs, a Steam- 
bath is indicated. You can give a person a steaming, 
by simply setting him on a chair, and wrapping a 
blanket around him, and then put a dish of hot water 
under the chair, and raise a steam by putting hot 
irons or bricks in the water. When the febrile symp- 
toms have subsided, and a gentle moisture is desired 
to be kept up on the skin, give a teaspoonful of the 
Spirits of Mendereri every hour. 

The Spirits of Mendereri is made by putting the 
Carbonate of Ammonia in Vinegar, and letting it dis- 
solve, until foaming has ceased. When a person is in 
a high fever, Cold, Acidulated water as a drink, with 
col I sponging of the face, neck, hands, and arms are 
not only very agreeable, but useful. One thickness of 
thin muslin can be kept wet constantly on the fore- 
head. The old rule of abstaining from the use of 
cold water while taking Calomel, is perfectly absurd. 
The hot teas usually given to produce sweating, are 
of doubtful utility, frequently increasing, rather than 
decreasing the fever ; the Warm-bath and the free use 
of Cold water is much better. 

expectorants. 
Expectorants increase, and aid in discharging the 
secretions of the lungs. In diseases of the lungs, where 



EXPECTORANTS — COUGH MEDICINES 145 

there is fever or inflammation, the same reducing re- 
medies should be used, spoken of under the head of 
Diaphoretics, such as Blood-letting, Tartar-emetic, 
Ipecac, and the Warm-bath. The local application 
of wet cloths over the breast is a very valuable means. 
In more chronic or long standing cases, where there 
is a tough mucus secreted, and thrown up with 
difficulty, the Honey of Squills with Vinegar is very 
beneficial ; likewise, the Balsam of Tolu, Fir, and Co- 
paiva, Bloodroot, and Licorice-root. Warren's Cough 
Mixture, containing Lobelia, Bloodroot, and Morphia, 
is a good preparation; also, the following: Gum 
Arabic one ounce, Licorice half an ounce, Saltpetre 
one drachm, Tartar-emetic two grains, Water one 
pint, of which use a tablespoonful every two hours. 
Inhaling the vapor of Warm water, is good to loosen 
the mucus in the air tubes ; by mixing tar or other 
indicated medicines with the water, it is said to have 
a still better effect. 

Where a person has the consumption, with a great 
difficulty of throwing up the matter, an occasional 
vomit will assist the expectoration much. Many me- 
dicines may be applied directly to the lungs, by boil- 
ing them, and inhaling the steam, such as Vinegar, 
Gum Ammoniac, Chlorine, Iodine, Comfrey, Elecam- 
pane, Stramonium (Jamestown Weed), Tar, To- 
bacco, Senega Snake-root^ etc. 

The following, are good preparations for coughs 
in children: tincture of Opium and Camphor one 
ounce; Wine of Antimony, half an ounce; Extract 
of Licorice, three drachms ; Gum Arabic, tw<> drachms ; 
Boiling water, six ounces; give of this, a teaspoontul 
every two or three hours, until the child gets better. 

The following, is a good preparation in Whooping- 



146 DIURETICS — PRESCRIPTION FOR DROPSY. 

cough: Ipecac, three grains; Pulverized Gum Arabic, 
half a drachm ; Carbonate of Magnesia, half a drachm; 
White Sugar, one drachm. Make it into twelye pow- 
ders, and give one every two hours. 

The following, is tha composition of Coxe's Hive 
Syrup : Senega Snake-root, one ounce ; Squills, one 
ounce ; Tartar-emetic, twelve grains ; Water, one 
quart; boil down to a pint; strain, and add half a 
pint of Honey ; dose, from twenty drops to a tea- 
spoonful. 

DIURETICS. 

Diuretics increase the flow of Urine. They are in- 
dicated, where there is a suppression of this flow, and 
in nearly all diseases of the bladder and kidneys. 
The following, are the principal diuretics r Juniper- 
berries, dose from a drachm to two drachms ; Buchu- 
leaves, dose, from half a drachm to a drachm, made 
into a tea ; Digitalis, dose, from ten to twenty drops 
of the Tincture ; Meadow Saffron or Colchicum, dose, 
from two to ten grains, or from twenty to thirty drops 
of the Vinous Tincture ; Oil of Turpentine, dose, 
from five to thirty drops; Cream Tartar, give an 
ounce in twenty-four hours ; Squill, dose, from one to 
four grains. 

The following, is an active preparation for Dropsy : 
the Deuto-chloride of Mercury (or Corrosive Sublim- 
ate), one grain ; Sweet Spirits of Nitre, two ounces ; 
Tinct. Camphor, half an ounce; Syrup of Squills, one 
ounce ; Tinct. Digitalis, one drachm ; dose, a teaspoon- 
ful every three hours. 



LECTURE X. 



EMMENAGOGUES. 



Emmenagogues assist the womb to secrete the 
Monthly courses, and are useful where the monthly 
courses are irregular. Depletive remedies and the 
Warm-bath are indicated where the patient is strong 
and robust, and where there are febrile symptoms. 
Pennyroyal is a mild emmenagogue. Black Helle- 
bore, dose, from ten to twenty grains ; Oil of Rose- 
mary, dose, from three to six drops ; Madder, dose 
from twenty to thirty grains ; Savine, dose, from fif- 
teen to twenty grains ; Spurred Rye, dose from ten to 
twenty grains ; Senega Snake-root, dose from ten to 
thirty grains ; Tansy, dose, from thirty grains to a 
drachm. 

ANTHELMINTICS. 

Anthelmintics are those medicines used to remove 
worms from the intestinal canal. Turpentine, from 
half a teaspoonful to two teaspoonfuls ; Wormseed 
oil, from four to eight drops; Cowhage, from one to 
two teaspoonfuls ; Dipple's Animal oil, from five to 
twenty drops ; Common Salt, from half an ounce to 
an ounce; Pinkroot and Senna, twenty grains of each, 
given two or three times a-day, is a very good com- 
bination. 

(H7) 



148 TONICS OR STRENGTHENING MEDICINES. 

TONICS. 

Tonics are strengthening medicines, They are indi- 
cated where a patient is recovering from an attack of 
sickness. Where an exhausting disease exists, as 
where there is a running abscess, or where the system 
has become debilitated from any cause whatever; 
good, plain, substantial food, gentle exercise in the 
open air, with cleanliness and friction over the surface, 
are simple but powerful tonics. 

The preparations of Iron stand first among tonic 
medicines ; they are oftener indicated than any other 
class of tonic medicines because, in debilitated cases, 
the blood is oftener deficient in iorn that in any other 
constituent. The coloring-matter of the blood is iron, 
and every one has noticed the light color of the blood, 
and consequently, of the complexion of debilitated 
persons. By giving some preparation of iron, it gives 
the blood a richer color, and the complexion a ruddier 
hue. The Precipitated Carbonate of Iron, given in 
doses of from ten to twelve grains three times a day, 
is as good a preparation of iron as is used. If the 
bowels are irregular, combine each dose of iron with 
four or five grains of Khubarb. 

The Sulphate of Iron (Copperas) four grains, mixed 
with Myrrh four grains, and Aloes two grains, given 
three times a day, is good in debilitated females ; also 
the Muriated Tincture of Iron is good in the same 
cases. A home-made preparation of iron can be made 
by putting a quantity of rusty nails in some sour 
cider, and letting it stand for a few days. 

The Bitter tonics stand next in importance. They 
are invaluable in the cure and prevention of intermit- 
tent fevers. Under this head come Columbo-root, 
Gentian, Quassia, Peruvian -bark, Wild Cherry-tree 



TONIC PREPARATIONS. 149 

bark, Dogwood bark, Wa-a-hoo, Poplar bark. The 
dose of these is from ten to thirty grains, three times 
a day. Quinine is the most powerful bitter tonic we 
have, given in doses of from one to four grains, three 
times a day. The following is an excellent combina- 
tion in Dyspepsia, where there is a want of action in 
the stomach : Infusion of Quassia a wineglassful, Tinc- 
ture of Columbo one fluidrachm, Tincture of the Mu- 
riate of Iron ten drops ; to be taken one hour before 
a meal. 

The Acids are also tonics. Nitric, particularly in 
diseases of the liver. Mix one ounce of Nitric acid 
with nine ounces of Distilled water: Give of this 
from ten to twenty drops at a dose, three times a day. 
Bathing the body with water acidulated with equal 
parts of Nitric and Muriatic acids is used for liver 
complaints. The best method of using Sulphuric acid 
(Oil of Vitriol) is, in the form of Elixir of Vitriol ; 
dose, from ten to twenty drops. Common Vinegar is 
sometimes useful as a tonic, used both internally and 
externally. Pure Wines are indicated sometimes 
where they do not produce too much excitement ; what 
is still better is good Ale. The Cold-bath, taken every 
morning, followed by a thorough rubbing with a coarse 
towel, is a means that every invalid, unless he be too 
weak, should attend to regularly. 

TONICS FOR DEBILITATED INFANTS. 

The Tartrate of Iron ; dose, from five to ten grains. 
Where medicines will not be retained in the stomach 
and it is necessary to give a tonic, use half an cranee 
of Peruvian-bark, mixed in half a pint of water, in 
the form of an injection. The following is a good 
tonic preparation for children, and especially for those 



150 ASTRINGENTS. 

that are subject to the fever and ague. Quinine two 
grains, Elixir Vitriol sixteen drops, Syrup of Cloves 
half an ounce, Water an ounce and a half. Give a 
teaspoonful three times a day. Where a slight stimu- 
lus is required, put an ounce and a half of White wine 
with a pint and a half of boiled Milk. Bathing child- 
ren regularly is another tonic means that should never 
be forgotten. 

ASTRINGENTS. 

Astringents contract or pucker up the animal struc- 
tures. They are used in long-continued Diarrheas, in 
Hemorrhages (bleedings), in excessive secretions of 
Mucus and Serum, in Sore Eyes, Piles, and long- 
standing Sores of most every kind. The following are 
the principal Astringents : Alum ten to thirty grains. 
Dried Alum, five to ten grains. Elixir Vitriol from 
ten to thirty drops. Catechu ten grains to half a 
drachm. Kino ten to thirty grains. Rhatany twenty 
to thirty grains. Sugar of Lead one grain to ten. 
White and Black Oak bark. Blackberry -root. Creo- 
sote. Chalk — Alum and Sulphate of Zinc (White 
Vitriol), eaclrhalf an ounce, mixed with boiling water, 
a quart, makes an excellent astringent wash for sores 
of most any kind. A good prescription for ordinary 
Summer Complaint is two grains of Dover Powder, 
one grain of Calomel, ten grains of Prepared Chalk, 
given every two hours until the patient is better; using 
no nourishment but Slippery-elm water or Flax-seed 
water. If the disease continues after using several 
doses of this, then use some of the more powerful 
astringents, such as Kino, Rhatany, Tannin, or the 
Sugar of- Lead. 

I would here say that I have of late used scarcely 
any other astringent internally but Tannin. It is the 



PRESCRIPTIONS FOR BOWEL COMPLAINTS. 151 

active principle of all vegetable astringents, and it 
accomplishes the object with more certainty, with less 
irritation, and in less quantity than any other astrin- 
gent I ever used. I use it a good deal in the prepara- 
tion of Ointments for sores of different kinds. The 
dose is from two to five grains. For a wash it should 
be used in the proportion of .from four to eight grains 
to the ounce of water. 

The following preparations are recommended in ob- 
stinate diarrhea : Extract of Rhatany and Sugar of 
Lead, each, five grains, Opium half a grain, given two 
or three hours until the symptoms abate. Or the 
following: Kino three drachms, Gum Arabic one 
drachm, Cinnamon Water two ounces. Take a tea- 
spoonful every three hours. 

The following is a good combination in the Diarrhea 
of infants : Prepared Chalk half an ounce, Almond 
Soap and pulverized Rhubarb, each, a drachm, Hy- 
drargyrum cum Creta twenty grains, Oil of Fennel 
eight drops, White Sugar two drachms. Give from 
six grains to twenty, three times a clay. A Syrup of 
Blackberry-root is valuable. 

Where the child is low use the following : Black- 
berry syrup two quarts, Nutmeg half an ounce, Cin- 
namon and Allspice half an ounce of each, best Brandy 
one pint; sweeten with Loaf sugar, and give two tea- 
spoonsful three or four times a day. In Dysentery 
(which is an inflammation of the lower gut) an injec- 
tion of Starch water, about four tablespoonsful, mixed 
with about a teaspoonful of Laudanum and five grains 
of Tannin after the bowels have been once thoroughly 
evacuated, is the best remedy that I ever saw used for 
that complaint. The injection may be repeated every 
two or three hours until relief is obtained. 



152 ASTRINGENT WASHES. 

A WASH FOE SORE MOUTH. 

Fill a four ounce vial two-thirds fall of Water, put 
in as much Alum as will dissolve, and then fill the 
bottle up with Laudanum ; rinse the mouth with this 
five or six times a day. 

A WASH FOR SORE EYES. 

Put four or five grains of the Sulphate of Copper 
(Bluestone), or the same quantity of the Nitrate of Sil- 
ver, in an ounce of Rain water, and wash the eyes 
with it once or twice a day. Or, put ten or fifteen 
grains of Sulphate of Zinc (White Vitriol) in an ounce 
of Rain water. 

In violent bleeding from the Womb, put a small 
teaspoonful of the Sugar of Lead in a pint of Cold 
Rain water and inject into the womb, at the same time 
giving internally five grains of Sugar of Lead and a 
quarter of a grain of Opium, every two or three hours 
until the bleeding stops. 

In bleeding from the Lungs, Stomach, or Bowels, 
the internal use of Sugar of Lead or Opium is indi- 
cated ; not, however, till the patient is somewhat 
reduced. 

In all these internal affections, where astringents 
have been recommended, the external use of some 
stimulating applications, as Cloths wrung out of Hot 
water, Mustard plasters, Liniments, or where there is 
much internal inflammation, Blisters will assist their 
action very much. 

SEDATIVES. 

Medicines producing Sleep, quieting Spasm, lower- 
ing the action of the Heart, easing Pain, and allaying 
general Nervous Irritability. Useful in all Nervous 
diseases, and often in Inflammatory and Febrile dis- 



SLEEP-PRODUCING MEDICINES. 153 

eases where the nervous system is much excited. 
They are useful in Spasmodic diseases, as in Colic, 
and where there is too great an action of the involun- 
tary muscles, as in Diarrhea and palpitation of the 
Heart. 

Opium and its preparations are the safest and surest 
of Sedatives. In small doses, say from a fourth to half 
a grain, it stimulates ; but in larger doses, from two 
to five grains, it acts as a direct sedative. 

Laudanum is the Tincture of Opium. The dose is 
from fifteen to sixty drops. 

Morph'a is the active principle of Opium, and the 
form in which I generally prefer exhibiting opium. 
The dose is from an eighth to half a grain. 

Paregoric is a w T eak Tincture of Opium ; generally 
given to children. Dose for children, from five to 
twenty drops ; for adults, from twenty drops* to a tea- 
spoonful. 

Hyoscyamus (Henbane) is a Sedative. Dose from 
four to ten grains of the Extract. 

Digitalis (Foxglove). Dose from one to three grains. 

Oonium (Hemlock). Dose from three to five grains. 

Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade). Dose from one to 
two grains of the Extract. 

Aconite (Wolfs-bane). Dose from four to eight 
grains. 

Ether. Dose from one to two drachms. 

Tobacco. This should be used in the form of an 
injection. Dissolve a drachm in a pint of water, half 
of which should be used at a time. Tobacco will pro- 
duce its Sedative effect if used in the form of a plaster 
laid over the bowels. Tobacco is never used inter- 
nally except where great relaxation of the muscular 



154: SEDATIVES — CHLOROFORM. 

system is required immediately, as in violent Spas- 
modic Colic ; here it will frequently afford relief 
when all other means fail. When boiled with Lard it 
makes a good ointment for irritable ulcers. 

Stramonium (Jamestown weed) is another most 
valuable sedative as an external application. An oint- 
ment made by boiling Stramonium leaves in Lard, 
is one of the best for painful sores and piles. The 
leaves of Stramonium smoked, afford much relief in 
Asthma. 

Blood-letting is a powerful sedative, where the cir- 
culation of the blood is too active. The application 
of Cold water, especially to the head, has a very seda- 
tive influence : for this purpose a bladder of ice should 
be kept on the head, or a single thickness of thin 
muslin should be kept wet on the forehead. 

Chloroform, used as an inhalation, is a quick, pow- 
erful, and certain sedative. Chloroform should be 
used where an insensibility to pain is desired, as in 
surgical operations ; or, it may be used in a high nervous 
excitement from any cause, as in Convulsions, or in a 
Fever kept up by nervous irritation. It is a powerful 
remedy and should be used with great caution. I 
have used it and seen it used in many cases, always 
with perfect satisfaction. I would as soon be deprived 
of any other remedy in my practice as Chloroform. 
It is a boon to suffering humanity whose place cannot 
be supplied by any other agent. Its administration 
is simple. Pour about a drachm at a time on a hand- 
kerchief, held in the hand, and breathe through the 
handkerchief until the desired effect is produced ; 
quietness is to be observed in the room ; the Stomach 
should be empty, else vomiting will be excited. In 



ANODYNE PREPARATIONS. 155 

uiilicult parturition (child bearing) no physician should 
withhold this from his patient. 

SEDATIVES FOR CHILDREN. 

Lemonade, one ounce; Black drop or Laudanum, 
two drops ; shake well and the dose will be a tea- 
spoonful for every year of its age. A child three 
months old may take half a drop of Laudanum ; six 
months old, one drop ; one year old, two drops. 

Prescription. — Rain water, one ounce ; Mucilage 
of Gum Arabic, half an ounce; Simple Syrup, half 
an ounce ; Laudanum, one drop. Dose, a teaspoonful 
every half hour until rest is produced. If the child be 
over a month old, double this quantity may be given. 

ANTISPASMODICS. 

Sometimes there is an irritability of the nervous 
system that can be overcome without the use of the 
more powerful sedatives ; as in Hysteria, the peculiar 
nervousness of persons recovering from a Fever, Deli* 
rium Tremens, Windy Colic, and the like. Here Anti- 
spasmodics are indicated. Ether, from one to two 
drachms; Assafoetida, five to thirty grains; Skunk- 
cabbage, ten to twenty grains ; Valerian (Lady slipper 
or nervine) half a drachm to a drachm and a half. 

FOR CHILDREN IN SPASMS. 

Assafoetida six grains, infusion of Chamomile one 
ounce, with a little Gum Arabic, to be injected. 
Another: warm milk, one ounce; Peppermint Es- 
sence, half an ounce; Tincture of Assafoetida, one 
drachm, to be injected in convulsions. Chloroform 
inhaled, is the most powerful of Antispasmodic 

Douches of cold water are good in Spasms. 



156 STIMULATING MEDICINES. 

EXCITANTS OR STIMULANTS. 

This class of medicines is used where an increased 
circulation of blood is required, either in a part or the 
whole system; as where there is great prostration 
of the system ; or where the bowels are so torpid, as 
not to be acted on properly by other medicines, excit- 
ants being given here to assist the action of other me- 
dicines. 

Excitants are used in every case where the spark of 
life has nearly expired, as in the restoration of drowned 
persons; those having received a violent blow or 
shock ; those struck by lightning ; those in the last 
stages of fever or disease of any kind. They are used 
locally, to drive away congestions of bloodvessels in 
the part, as in the first stage of inflammatory swell- 
ings. They are used in indolent sores, where there 
is not enough life to heal. Spirits, such as Brandy, 
Wine, Whisky, Eum, etc., are powerful stimulants, 
when taken internally, and externally, if the wet sur- 
face is kept covered to prevent its evaporating. 

Carbonate of Ammonia is a very powerful stimu- 
lant ; this is the Smelling Salts that ladies fill their 
smelling-bottles with ; if taken internally, the dose is 
from five to ten grains ; Ether, one to two drachms ; 
Camphor, five to fifteen grains ; Cayenne Pepper, five 
to ten grains ; Cinnamon, ten to twenty grains. The 
essential oils, such as Cinnamon, Peppermint, Cloves 5 
in doses of from five to fifteen drops ; Nux Yomica, 
four to six grains ; Strychnine (the active principle 
of Nux Yomica), from one-sixteenth to one sixth of a 
grain. 

Heat, as hot drinks or heat applied externally. 
Friction is an excitant ; all external applications are 
rendered more potent by being used with a gentle 



MEDICINES THAT CHARGE THE WHOLE SYSTEM. 157 

friction. Electricity is perhaps the most powerful 
excitant w r e have ; it seems to be similar to the life- 
exciting principle itself, and it will sometimes restore 
life to the paralyzed limb or system when all other 
means fail. 

ALTERATIVES AND SORBEFACIENTS. 

Those medicines that act imperceptibly on the 
whole system, producing a general change in it with- 
out any violent action. They act slowly but power- 
fully, eradicating diseased conditions of the body that 
have been of long standing ; removing morbid growths, 
and restoring the whole system to a healthy con- 
dition. 

Mercury stands at the head of this class of medi- 
cines. Blue Pill (which is a preparation of Mercury), 
is almost a certain cure for mild attacks of sickness 
depending on a want of action of the liver, as costive- 
ness, temporary Dyspepsia, Jaundice, and the numer- 
ous catalogue of real Liver complaints. 

Take about six grains for four or five nights in suc- 
cession, seeing that there is an operation from the 
bowels every morning ; then discontinue a week and 
repeat again in the same manner, until the difficulty 
is removed. If the gums look redder than natural, or 
become tender, discontinue for a while, or salivation 
will be induced. It will be necessary also, to attend 
strictly to diet, exercise, bathing and the like, so as to 
assist the medicine. 

A more active form of Mercury is Calomel. This 
acts as an alterative most effectually, when given in 
small doses, from two to three grains every three 
hours, until yellow discbargee are produced. Yellow- 
ness of the discharges from the bowels, and less yel- 
lowness in the urine and skin is an indication o\ 



158 ALTERATIVES AND ABSORBENTS. 

mercury taking effect, and it should not be used 
longer. Where the liver is inactive, and the bowels 
loose, as in Cholera Morbus and watery Diarrhea, 
the Calomel should be given combined with Opium ; 
two grains of Calomel with a fourth of a grain of 
Opium, or an eighth of a grain of Morphia every 
two hours, until the symptoms subside. 

The Proto-iodide of Mercury is a still more power- 
ful alterative, and should be used where some danger- 
ous disease threatens to get into the general system, 
and you want to get this introduced first, as in the 
second stage of Venereal disease (Pox), or where 
some ulceration is extending rapidly, as ulceration of 
the liver, or where false membranes are being formed, 
as in inflammation in the windpipe, called Croup, or 
in Pleurisy. 

Corrosive Sublimate is another very powerful altera- 
tive and sorbefacient, stimulating to increased action 
every gland and absorbent vessel in the system. It 
is very useful for the removal of enlargements of the 
bones and flash, occurring from Venereal disease. 
Two grains mixed with a pint of the Syrup of Sar- 
saparilla, is a good mode for its administration. Give 
of this two or three tablespoonfuls three times a-day. 

I am aware that there is a popular prejudice against 
the use of these rank poisons, as they are called. 
But this very power that they possess, is what makes 
them useful, and there is no possible danger in using 
them in the manner here recommended. By mixing 
Corrosive Sublimate twenty grains, with Lime-water 
a pint, you form an excellent wash for old sores, 
known under the name of Yellow- wash. 

Blue Mercurial Ointment (Unguentum) is an excel- 
lent ointment for sores, and especially if combined with 



PLASTEES AND LINIMENTS. 159 

some astringent, as Alum, Sugar of Lead or Tannin. 
It is sure death to lice of all descriptions. 

Hydriodate of Potassa is another medicine of this 
class, valuable in most all chronic diseases ; mix a 
drachm with a pint of the Syrup of Sarsaparilla, and 
give two or three tablespoonfuls three times a-day. 
Sarsaparilla alone, is said to have an alterative effect. 

EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS. 

1st. Stimulating : to draw the irritation from some 
internal and vital part to the skin ; the inflammation 
of which, is not so serious as that of the part from 
which you wish to draw it. Stimulating applications 
are used to drive away congestions of blood in a part, 
producing swelling which would otherwise terminate 
in inflammation and suppuration (formation of matter). 
This is commonly called " Scattering the swelling." 

Stimulating applications are also used to excite 
action in parts too indolent or lifeless, as in Paralysis 
and Old sores without much feeling. Blister plaster 
stands first in this class of external applications. This 
is made by pounding up a pound of Spanish flies or 
of Common potato flies, and mixing them with White 
wax, Resin, and Olive oil, half a pound of each, 
melted. Mustard plasters, made of Ground Mus- 
tard, mixed up with Vinegar and Flour, having the 
proportion of mustard in proportion to the age of the 
person and to the urgency of the case; it is an excel- 
lent application in painful affections of the Stomach 
and Bowels, and in violent Chest complaints. 

The following liniment is one that will accomplish 

all that the patent liniment's, such as "Opodeldoc," 

"Nerve and Bone Liniment," " Chinese Liniment," or 

all the "Pain Killers," can do. Take equal parts of 
28 



160 LINIMENTS, OINTMENTS, POULTICES. 

Laudanum, Sweet oil, Aqua Ammonia, and Spirits 
of Camphor. Shake the mixture up and rub it on 
the part where you wish to produce the irritation. 
The irritation will be much greater if the part be 
covered up with a flannel cloth after it is rubbed. 
The following is the composition of " Granville's 
Lotion :" 

1st. The Milder: Liquor Ammonia one ounce, 
Spirit of Rosemary six drachms, Tinct. of Camphor 
two drachms. 

2d. The Stronger : Liquor Ammonia ten drachms, 
Spirit of Rosemary half an ounce, Tincture of Cam- 
phor two drachms. By wetting the surface with the 
stronger lotion and covering it up, you can draw a 
Blister. 

For indolent sores the following are good ointments : 
The Citrine, the Basilicon ointment (made by melting 
one ounce of Beeswax, one ounce of Resin, and one 
and a half ounces of Lard together). The Yellow- 
wash, made by mixing one drachm of Corrosive Sub- 
limate with a pint of Lime-water. 

COOLING AND SEDATIVE APPLICATIONS. 

Useful where there is much heat or pain. Cold 
water, applied with a Sponge, or keeping a cloth con- 
stantly Wet over the part. In inflammation of the 
Brain a bladder of Ice should be kept alternately on 
different parts of the head. 

For painful inflammations and swellings, Poultices 
of Tobacco, or Stramonium, or Poppy leaves, are ad- 
mirable. 

For painful sores, Ointments made from the above- 
named plants, boiled down to an extract and mixed 
with Mutton tallow. 



POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 163 

The next thing to be done, which, indeed, can be done 
at the same time you are producing vomiting, is to 
give something to change, chemically, the nature of 
the poison, converting it into an innoxious or harmless 
substance. If the poison be a corrosive or burning 
poison, you must give some Mucilaginous or oily sub- 
stance to protect the coats of the stomach, such as the 
Whites of eggs, Slippery-elm or Flax-seed water, 
Sweet oil or Linseed oil, or Butter, or Lard. 

ANTIDOTES FOR ALKALIES AND THEIR SALTS. 

Liquor of Ammonia and Sal Ammonia, are neutral- 
ized by Lemon-juice, Olive oil, and Flax-seed oil. 

For Potash, and Pearlash, and Lye, the antidotes 
are the same as the above, some oily or greasy sub- 
stance, which forms Soap with the Alkalies. The 
antidote for Saltpetre is Mucilaginous drinks. For 
Liver of Sulphur, Common salt. 

The antidote for Arsenic is the Hydrated Peroxide 
of Iron ; in the absence of this, iron rust ; afterward 
Mucilaginous drinks. 

For Tartar-emetic, the infusion of Oak bark, of 
Gall-nuts, or of Peruvian-bark. A strong decoction of 
Common tea is good also in poisoning from Tartar- 
emetic. 

For Carbonate of Barytes, Epsom or Glauber salts. 
For poisoning from Blue Vitriol, Verdigris, " Schooled 
Green," food cooked in dirty copper vessels, or pickles 
made green by Copper, give the Whites of eggs in 
large quantity. For Spanish-llics, Linseed oil ; lor 
Muriate of Gold, give Sulphate ot' Iron (Copperas). 
For the preparations of Opium, such as the Gum, 
Laudanum, Morphia, Paregoric, use an emetic and 
ptomach-pump. as in every other case of poisoning, 



164 POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 

then use strong hot coffee, keeping the person moving 
all the time and clashing him with cold water. For 
Lead and its various preparations, such as White 
Lead, Red Lead, and Sugar of Lead, use Epsom Salts 
and water acidulated with Sulphuric acid. 

Mercury and its different combinations, such as Cor- 
rosive Sublimate and the Iodide of Mercury : the anti- 
dotes are Milk, the Whites of eggs beaten up with 
water, Wheat flour, similarly prepared. The antidote 
for Oxalic acid is Chalk and water. 

Prussic acid : for this, give a few drops of the Spirits 
of Ammonia, frequently repeated, and the cold dash 
should be used. For Nitrate of Silver, use common 
Salt. For the Muriate of Tin, Dyer's Solution, Putty, 
Gunpowder, give Whites of eggs. For Sulphate of 
Zinc (White Vitriol),* Oxide of Zinc, and Acetate of 
Zinc, give Milk and the Carbonate of Soda. 

The antidote for Muriatic acid is common Pearlash, 
or Carbonate of Magnesia, Carbonate of Soda, Chalk, 
or Soap in solution, to be accompanied with copiom 
draughts of warm Flax-seed tea, Milk, or some muci 
laginous or oily fluid. 

The antidote for Nitric acid is the Carbonate of 
Magnesia, Chalk, with warm Flax-seed tea. For Sul- 
phuric acid (Oil of Vitriol), give the same as for Nitric 
acid. 

TREATMENT OF THE BITES OF MAD DOGS, VENOMOUS 
SNAKES AND INSECTS. 

Where the teeth have made a wound in a fleshy 
part, sharpen a stick so as to fit the hole, and then, 
with a sharp blade, cut the part out around the stick 
so as to take out an entire cap of flesh on the point, 
of the stick. First of all, however, tie a band around 



BITES OF MAD D0G8 — FAMILY MEDICINES. 



165 



the limb, above the wound, tightly, to prevent the 
poison being absorbed into the system. After you 
have cut out the wounded parts, or even before, if you 
cannot get them cut out immediately, suck the wound 
with all your might, draw out all the blood you 
possibly can, or put on a Cupping-glass and draw it. 
When this is done, wash the wound with a solution 
of Potash or Ammonia ; then give the patient two 
grains of Opium and ten grains of Calomel, and let 
him go to bed ; after a few hours, give him a Cathar- 
tic to open his bowels. If symptoms of the dis- 
ease occur, keep the patient insensible with large 
potations of ardent Spirits and Opium or inhalations 
of Chloroform. 

Medicines that should be kept in a family living at 
a distance from a drug-store. 



Epsom Salts. 


Aqua Ammonia. 


Dover's Powders: 


Senna. 


Creosote. 


Spirits of Camphor 


Castor Oil. 


Hydrarg. cum Creta, 


Volatile Liniment. 


Sweet Oil. 


Quinine. 


Mustard. 


Calomel. 


Blue Mass. 


Cayenne Pepper. 


Rhubarb. 


Tannin. 


Chloroform. 


Jalap. 


Nitrate of Silver. 


Blister-plaster. 


Aloes. 


Ipecac. 


Adhesive-plaster. 


Magnesia. 


Hive Syrup. 


Mercurial Ointment 


Pink-root. 


Laudanum. 


Stramonium Oint. 


Turpentine. 


Paregoric. 




Where Arsenic 


is used about the house, 


the Hydrated Peroxid* 


of Iron. 







It would be well also to keep a large metallic, and a 
small glass Syringe, a Catheter for drawing off the 
urine, a Lancet, a pair of small Forceps, and a Pro- 
bang for removing substances from the throat. 



166 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FOR MEDICINES. 
apothecaries' WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

FLUID MEASURES AND THEIR SIGNS. 

60 Minims (sign Vf[ ) make one fluid drachm* 
8 Fluid drachms ( 3 ) " " " ounce. 

16 " ounces (3) " " " pint. 
8 " pints (O) " " " gallon. 

APOTHECARIES 5 MEASURES AND THEIR SIGNS. 

20 Grains (sign gr.) make one scruple. 

3 Scruples ($) " c; drachm. 

8 Drachms (3) " " ounce. 

12 Ounces (3) " " pound (fc). 

The ordinary measures by which medicines are 
administered : 

A teaspoon ful is supposed to contain about one fluidrachm. 

A coffee or dessert-spoonful " " three " 

A tablespoonful " " four " 

A wineglassful " " two ounces. 

A cup or glassful " si four " 






3 



ADVICE TO THE READER. 167 

A PARTING WORD OF ADVICE TO THE READER HOW TO 
BE HEALTHY, HAPPY, HANDSOME, AND LONG-LIVED. 

First: Live in a healthy climate. However tem- 
perate and well-regulated your life may be, you cannot 
expect to have good health, as long as you are breath- 
ing a poisoned air. 

Second : Engage in a healthy occupation ; one 
that exercises the whole body much in the open air. 
Avoid inactive confinement in ill-ventilated rooms. 
Have an occupation of some kind, no difference what 
your pecuniary circumstances may be ; you cannot 
enjoy life without occupation. 

Third : Observe regularity in everything ; in eating, 
in drinking, in labor, in rest, in recreation, in intellect- 
ual and physical exercises, in washing and bathing, 
in sleep and in the natural evacuations of the body. Let 
every duty have its regular hour, and every hour its 
regular duty. 

Fourth : Let your food and drink be proper, 
simple in quality, and not taken in excess. 

Fifth: Be cleanly in every part of your person. 

Sixth : Be chaste. Have one companion of the 
opposite sex, and but one, whom you purely and sin- 
cerely love. 

Seventh : Avoid all bad and unnatural habits, such 
as the use of artificial stimulants : tea, coffee, to- 
bacco, opium, and spirituous liquors, as also excesses 
of all kinds ; any practice that stimulates ordeprc 
unnaturally the powers of life. 

Eighth : Be honest, industrious, and economical, and 
thereby acquire a competency and an independence. 

Ninth: Be religious. Trust implicitly in a Su- 
preme Being. Love his works. Serve and adore him . 



SUPPLEMENTAL LECTURE 



ON 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 



Our subject for this evening's lecture, gentlemen, is 
the Generative Organs — that apparatus by which our 
species is propagated or increased. 

It is a fixed principle through all organized nature, 
that the germ, from which an organized body springs, 
must come in contact with the sperm of the opposite 
sex before an organization commences. This principle 
not only belongs to the animal kingdom, but also to 
the vegetable kingdom. Neither an apple, nor an ear 
of corn, nor a head of wheat comes to perfection until 
two germs of opposite sexes come together, and thus, 
in some mysterious, incomprehensible manner, origi- 
nates the organization of the fruit or the grain. This 
mixing of the germs of vegetables, or their impregna- 
tion, takes place while the vegetable is in bloom. This 
is the use of blossoms, to mix the semen of the two 
sexes together. That fine powder covering the inner 
structure of the flower, is the somen or germinating 
principle of plants, which becoming separated from 
the male blossom or male part of the blo980m o\^ the 
vegetable, and en coming in contact with the female 
blossom or female part of the blossom, impregnates it, 
29 (167) 



168 A SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

and thus originates the fruit or grain, or whatever 
production the plant brings forth. With some plants 
the two sexes are found on the same stalk ; with others 
they are found on different stalks. 

The necessity of the flowers of vegetables becoming 
impregnated by the seminal dust of the opposite sex 
is illustrated in a cornfield, where a severe hail-storm 
comes on, when the corn is silking out. The hail 
knocking the delicate dust off from the silk, which 
dust is the fecundating or germinating principle, pre- 
vents the ears of corn from becoming fully developed. 
This is the reason that different kinds of corn, planted 
in the same field, become mixed. The semen or dust 
of one kind of corn comes in contact with and impreg- 
nates the germ of another kind of corn, and, as a con- 
sequence, the children or ears of corn resulting from 
this mixed impregnation, partake of the peculiarities 
of both parents. The vegetable kingdom, at this time 
of the communication of the sexes, or this running 
time of the vegetables, is arrayed in all its glory, 
putting on its most beautiful apparel, as if to entice 
the sexes toward each other. When impregnation has 
been effected it throws off its allurements and goes to 
work in a sober and maternal manner to the rearing 
and bringing to perfection of its offspring. 

On the same principle of the mixing of the semen 
of the two sexes, all orders and species of animals are 
propagated, from the zoophyte, which can scarcely be 
distinguished from the rock to which it is fastened, up 
to man, the most perfect of all organized animals. 
The manner in which this seminal fluid of the two 
sexes is brought in contact differs in different animals. 
In the lowest orders of animals, as the zoophyte and 
oyster, the genital organs of both sexes exist in the 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 169 

same individual, being what are called hermaphro- 
dites. In some insects the genital organs are in the 
front part of the body. 

Other animals, such as the frog and toad, have an- 
other way of mixing the seminal fluid. The male lies 
on the top of the female for days together, hanging on 
by a peculiar structure made for the purpose in the 
fore-feet or hands ; he does not introduce the semen 
by penetrating her with a penis, but simply pours out 
his fluid over her external organs of generation, she, 
at the same time, pouring out her seminal fluid, they 
become mixed and the spawn becomes impregnated. 
Some kinds of fishes impregnate their spawn in the 
same manner, while others, as the whale, have con- 
nection with one another like human beings, the 
female whale turning over on her back, and the male 
gliding on to her. The leech has the organs of both 
sexes in the same individual. 

The testicles or stones of different animals are situ- 
ated in different parts of the body; some in the front 
part, some in the back part, while some hang pendu- 
lous, as those of the bull and ram. Birds have their 
testicles inside of the body: their generative organs, 
and urinary organs, and digestive organs all empty 
into the same pouch, called the Cloacus. 

In having connection with one another the different 
animals have an instinctive knowledge how to ope- 
rate. The male cat, whose penis is short, hangs on 
with his teeth and claws. The male elephant, whose 
thick body prevents its bringing its genital oi^ans in 
contact with those of the female while standing an the 
6ame level, digs a hole in the ground, in which the 
female stands while he has connection with her. 

The time that different animals occupy in copula- 



170 A SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

tion, differs greatly. The bull and ram and the male 
of most kinds of birds occupy but a short time, while 
others, as the clog and boar, are tedious in copulation. 
The lower animals differ from man in having particu- 
lar seasons for venereal desire. When that desire 
is satisfied by impregnation, it does not return until 
the female has been delivered of her progeny and 
has reared them so as not to require her attention 
Whereas in the human species the venereal desire* 
may be excited under most all circumstances. 

We come now to speak of the genital organs of the 
human species. First then of the male. The genital 
organs of the male consist of the Penis, Urethra (which 
is common to the genital and urinary organs), Yesi- 
culse Seminales, Vasa Deferentia, and Testicles. The 
Penis and Testicles are the external organs of genera- 
tion in the male, and the Urethra, Yesiculse Semina- 
les, and Yasa Deferentia, the internal organs. To 
commence then with the Penis. 

The body of the Penis is composed mainly of three 
bodies of loose cellular substance, two of them lying 
side by side, called the Corpora Cavernosa, and the 
third body, lying under these two. called the Corpus 
Spongiosum. At the end of the penis this lower 
body, or Corpus Spongiosum, becomes enlarged into 
the Glans penis, or head of the penis. Through this 
corpus spongiosum goes the Urethra, which opens ex- 
ternally through the glans penis, and internally into 
the bladder. Through this urethra pass the urine from 
the bladder and the seminal fluid of the male. The 
end of the urethra that connects with the bladder is 
surrounded with muscular fibre, whose contraction 
prevents the urine flowing out continually. Some- 
times the integrity of this musele is destroyed, which 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 171 

prevents the person, so afflicted, from retaining the 
urine. 

I knew an actress who had to wear a sponge during 
her performance on the stage, from a defect of this 
kind. When we wish to evacuate the bladder, that 
is, to force out the urine (that is brought there from 
the kidneys by two little ducts called the ureters) this 
little sphincter muscle, that surrounds the mouth of 
the bladder and commencement of the urethra, relaxes, 
and the muscular fibres that compose one of the coats 
of the bladder contract, and also the muscles covering 
the abdomen, which forces the urine out through the 
urethra. 

There are little valves at the openings of the ureters 
or ducts, that bring the urine from the kidneys, which 
are open when the bladder is relaxed, but which shut 
up the openings of the ureters when the bladder con- 
tracts, to expel urine, so as to prevent the urine being 
forced back to the kidneys. When the bladder be- 
comes properly emptied, the muscular coat of the blad- 
der relaxes, and the muscle that surrounds the mouth 
of the bladder and the commencement of the urethra 
contracts again, so as to prevent the urine from contin- 
ually dribbling away from the bladder, as in inconti- 
nence of the urine, of which I just spoke. After the 
bladder relaxes and the mouth of the bladder is shut, 
thus cutting off the stream of urine suddenly, the 
urethra, from the bladder out to its termination, is full 
of urine. How is this evacuated? Surrounding the 
urethra are two sets of small muscles, one set called 
the Acceleratores Urinse vel Ejaculatorea Seminis — ■ 
which means the Hurriers of the Urine or the Throwers 
out of the Semen. The other set compose the compres- 
sor Urethrae. These little muscles, by their contrac- 



172 SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

tion, suddenly close the passage of the urethra, and 
consequently force out in a jet whatever happens to be 
in the urethra, whether it be urine or semen. These 
little muscles contract suddenly in emptying the ure- 
thra ; hence the reason why the last drops of urine 
are forced out in jets, just as these muscles contract. 
And this is the way the Semen is forced out by the 
contraction of these same muscles, forcing it out in 
a jet. 

The three bodies that compose the body of the Penis, 
the two Corpora Cavernosa and the Corpus Spongio- 
sum, are very loose in their structure, and capable of 
being injected with blood, which renders them much 
fuller, longer and harder, in a condition for penetrating 
the female organs of generation. The stimuli that 
cause the blood to flow to the Penis and thus inject 
it, are lascivious desires or thoughts, certain sub- 
stances taken into the stomach, and friction or rub- 
bing of the penis. I knew a steamboat captain at 
St. Louis, that had been dissipating quite extensively 
on his way up from New Orleans, and who had a wife 
in St. Louis, that took largely of a stimulant that 
--causes injection of the penis. His penis became so 
injected with blood, that the injection would not go 
down ; and it was just as much as a skillful surgeon 
could do, by the application of Ice and other powerful 
remedies, to save his penis for him. 

In the dog there is a muscle, going across the penis, 
that contracts when the penis becomes erected, and 
chokes it, keeping it swelled, so that the dog cannot 
reduce the enlargement at will. 

The same sort of an arrangement exists in the bitch, 
so that when they are copulating, the genital organs 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 173 

become mutually swelled together, and remain so until 
the semen of the dog is discharged. 

The Penis is held in an erect position by a ligament 
going from its upper side and fastened into the bones 
of the pelvis. It is erected also by a couple of muscles, 
one fastened to each side of the penis, the other ends 
of which are fastened to the bones of the pelvis. 

Now I have told you how the penis is made, how it 
is erected and held in its position, and how the Semen, 
after it gets into the Urethra, is forced out in jets. 
The next thing to be considered is, how does the 
Semen get in the Urethra, how is it formed, and what 
is its nature. Opening into the upper portion of the 
Urethra, near its commencement at the bladder, are 
two little tubes going to a couple of little bodies 
called Vesiculse Seminales. 

These Yesiculse Seminales are composed of a minute 
tube or tubes, twisting around in every direction, 
through which the semen passes, or in which it is 
contained as a reservoir, until it is forced out by the 
contraction of the little muscles that surround the 
urethra, of which I spoke before — the Aceleratores 
Urinee or Ejaculatores Seminales, and the compressor 
Urethrse muscle. When the penis is erected, and 
stimulated by friction, or by being introduced into the 
female organs of generation a sufficient length of 
time, it stimulates these little muscles to contract sud- 
denly, causing the semen to flow from these Vesicular 
Seminales into the urethra and to be forced out, as the 
last drops of urine are, in jets. This is the manner 
in which the semen is injected into the organs of the 
female. The presence of the semen in the vesicate 
seminales has some mysterious influence in causing 



174: A SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

venereal desires ; for as soon as it is thrown out the 
venereal desire passes away. 

One contraction of these muscles does not force all 
the semen from the vesiculse seminales ; because after 
a little rest other discharges of semen can be produced 
in like manner. Some of the lower animals, as the 
rooster and the ram, can have connection with the op- 
posite sex every few minutes all day. A story is told 
of a ram that got over to an island one night, where 
there were two hundred ewes, and impregnated them 
all before morning. There is a historical fact in con- 
nection with the celebrated siege of ancient Troy, that 
the Grecians being so long from home (the siege 
lasting several years), were afraid their country would 
become depopulated by their long absence from their 
wives ; so they sent home a few of their best men, 
who soon impregnated the whole female part of the 
nation. My memory does not enable me to give you 
the figures of their exploits, and for fear of being ac- 
cused of exaggeration, I will not endeavor to call 
them to mind. 

The next question is, how does the semen get into 
these vesiculse seminales or reservoirs of the semen? 
It gets there, through two ducts called the Vasa De- 
ferentia, which go from the vesiculse seminales to the 
testicles. 

The testicles hang behind and under the penis, 
between the legs. They are contained in a bag, con- 
sisting of two coverings, the integument or skin, and 
a sort of contractile covering beneath the skin, which 
gives the bag and its contents that peculiar worm -like 
motion that is observed in it. The object of this mo- 
tion is probably to have some effect in stimulating the 
testicle to the secretion of the semen, or to assist in 



ORGANIC GENERATION. i75 

the passage of the semen from the testicle. The 
proper coverings of the testicle itself, the coverings that 
form the walls of the testicle, are two; an external 
serous membrane, and an internal fibrous or harder 
covering, which gives the form to the testicle. The 
testicle is an ovoid gland, composed principally of a 
great number of little ducts that commence from its 
back part and go in convolutions or twistings toward 
the circumference of the testicle. These little tubes 
are called Tubuli Seminiferi, or semen-carrying tubes. 
Here, in these minute tubes, is w T here the semen is 
separated from the blood, by some glandular peculiar- 
ity which we cannot explain. When the semen be- 
comes separated from the blood in these little tubuli 
seminiferi, it is carried along their course to the back 
part of the testicle, where these little tubes become 
straight, and are called Vasa Recti; farther along, 
they are called Yasa .Efferentia; farther along still, 
after all the tubes leave the body of the testicle at the 
upper part, and turn going down behind it, they take 
a zigzag or twisted direction, forming a projection 
which can be felt on the back part of the testicle, 
called the Epididymis. At the low T er part of the 
epididymis all these tubes become merged into one, 
the vas deferens, which goes up into the abdomen, 
and comes down on the side of the bladder and 
becomes connected with the ducts of the vesicula 
seminalis. 

So you can see at a glance, the origin and course of 
the semen. It is first formed in the tubuli seminiferi, 
in the body of the testicle; it goes thence, along the 
little tubes, the continuations of the tubuli seminiferi, 
along the back part of the body of the testicle to its 
upper part ; there it goes along the little tubes, striking 



176 SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

out from the body of the testicle forming the epididy- 
mis, and descending it becomes collected into one 
tube at the bottom of the epididymis, the vas de- 
ferens ; it then ascends through the vas deferens into 
the abdomen, and passes into the vesiculse seminales 
or reservoirs of the semen ; from these it is forced out 
by the contraction of the little muscles I have before 
spoken of, when these muscles are excited to contrac- 
tion by the influence of the venereal passion. 

Of the composition, nature, and use of the semen, 
we shall speak hereafter, when treating of the union 
of the sexes, or copulation. 

FEMALE ORGANS OP GENERATION. 

They are divided into the external and internal 
organs. 

The external organs of generation are the Mons 
Veneris ; the Labia Majora or greater lips of the 
Yulva ; the labia Minora or Nymphse, or lesser lips ; 
the Clitoris and the Hymen. The Mons Yeneris or 
mountain of Yenus, is a prominence situated at the 
upper part of the external organs of generation and 
covering the prominence of bone called the Symphy- 
sis Pubis. The Mons Yeneris is composed princi- 
pally of cellular tissue and fat, and covered after 
puberty with hair. Its use is probably to afford a 
cushion over the bone, to prevent too much bruising 
during coition. The Labia Externa or Labia Majora, 
resemble in structure very much, the Mons Yeneris, 
being composed principally of loose cellular tissue and 
fat, and are covered after puberty with hair. Their 
inner surface is lined with a very delicate mucous 
membrane, more delicate than that lining the mouth. 
The slit or cavity that the external lips surround, is 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 177 

called by physicians the Vulva — by the unprofessional, 
it is called something else. The Labia Minora or La- 
bia Interna, or lesser or internal lips, are two folds 
of the lining of the Vulva, and lie inside of the 
greater lips. In the virgin, they are concealed by the 
outer lips entirely, and when the outer lips are pretty 
well covered with hair, nothing can be seen of the 
female organs of generation except a little black or 
sandy spot between the legs. As the woman has 
children how 7 ever, these inner lips increase in size, so 
that they can be seen between the outer lips. Among 
some nations, the Hottentots for example, these inner 
lips grow to an inconvenient size, so that they have to 
be cut off. Hanging in the upper part of the Vulva, 
is a small pendulons teat, called the Clitoris, less than 
an inch in length. It can be seen by opening the ex- 
ternal lips ; it resembles the male penis, and is cap- 
able of being erected under the influence of the ven- 
ereal desire. It has been known to grow four or five 
inches long, giving the organ the appearance of a 
genuine penis. This unnatural enlargement of the 
Clitoris, has given rise to the erroneous idea of the 
existence of hermaphrodites, or persons having both 
the sexes combined in the same individual. The 
Clitoris is supposed to be the seat of the venereal de- 
sires. About an inch below the Clitoris, is the opening 
of the vagina. In some virgins, who have never had con- 
nection with the opposite sex, there is a very delicate 
membrane drawn across the lower part of the opening 
of the vagina; this is called the Hymen, or, in vulgar 
language, the maidenhead. It becomes ruptured in 
coition. It is not a sure test of virginity, for many 
virtuous maidens have this hymen ruptured before 
they have connection with the opposite sex. And 



178 SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

here, I will giv«f a word of advice to those young 
gentlemen who intend to get married shortly, that if 
they do not find, on the consummation of their nup- 
tials, a formidable barrier there, requiring all their 
strength to overcome — I say, if they find this barrier 
entirely absent, and they are enabled to cohabit on 
their first night with the utmost facility, they need not 
become alarmed and jealous, as to the chastity of 
their wives; for there is not one maiden in ten, who, 
at the age of eighteen, will offer much resistance (so 
far as the hymen or maidenhead is concerned), to the 
entrance of the penis. Above the opening of the Va- 
gina, between that and the Clitoris, is the Meatus 
Urinarius or opening of the Urethra, the tube going 
to the bladder for the passage of the urine. 

The internal organs of generation of the female, are 
the Vagina, the Uterus or womb, the Ovaria, and the 
Fallopian tubes. The Yagina is the duct or passage 
leading from the Vulva to the Uterus ; it is the sheath 
into which the penis passes in coition ; and it is the 
track the child follows in coming from the uterus to 
the external world. In the virgin, the vagina is about 
an inch in diameter, and from three to five inches in 
length. It is lined with mucous membrane, and con- 
tains a number of little follicles that secrete and pour 
out into the vagina a thin fluid during the act of 
coition and during childbirth. These little follicles are 
stimulated to increased action also, by the venereal 
desires of the female. Surrounding the opening of 
the vagina, are a few muscular fibres that have a 
tendency to contract this opening; the contraction is 
not sufficient however to offer an impediment to the 
entrance of the penis. 

The vagina as well as the external organs of 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 179 

generation of the female are susceptible of great ex- 
pansion at childbirth, to prevent a rupture of the 
parts. These parts, after childbirth, never become a3 
small as before. Opening into the upper end of the 
vagina, is the neck of the uterus. The vagina at its 
upper end, surrounds the neck of the womb, and is 
firmly attached to it. The uterus or womb is a mus- 
cular pouch, having the shape of a flattened pear. In 
the virgin, the uterus is about three inches long, and 
about two inches broad. It is held in its place by 
strong ligaments. The uterus is the receptacle of the 
child, the place where the child grows until it becomes 
sufficiently developed to live in the external world. 
The uterus enlarges as the child grows, and its mus- 
cular structure becomes stronger, until it is able, at 
the end of nine months, to expel the child from its 
cavity by the contraction of its muscular fibres. The 
opening of the womb through the neck, which pro- 
jects into the vagina, is a mere slit or crevice in the 
virgin uterus, and a very small, round hole in the 
uterus that has been delivered of children, scarcely 
large enough to admit the point of the finger. But 
just before delivery, it becomes enlarged sufficiently, 
to admit of the passage of the child without being 
ruptured. Opening into the upper part of the uterus, 
on each side, is a little duct about the size of a goose- 
quill, from four to five inches long ; its outer extrem- 
ity is open and terminates by a little fringe into what is 
called the cavity of the Peritoneum (the serous mem- 
brane covering the bowels, uterus, and the other or- 
gans of the abdomen). One of the slits, forming the 
fringe of the Fallopian tube, is fastened to a small 
glandular-looking body, about the size of an almond. 
This little body is called the Ovarium, and the two 



180 SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

taken together, one on each side of the uterus, are called 
the Ovaria, meaning literally, the receptacles of eggs. 
Inside of these little Ovaria, are a number of minute 
vesicles, filled with a clear fluid, in which may be 
seen a flocculus or flake-like substance floating. There 
are from ten to twenty of these little vesicles in each 
Ovarium. This vesicle is the germ or egg from which 
the human being starts. This little insignificant 
blister of clear fluid is the beginning of man. When 
one of these little vesicles becomes impregnated by 
the semen coming in contact with it, the vesicle en- 
larges — leaves the Ovarium — the little fringes of the 
Fallopian tube clasp it, and it descends down the tube 
into the uterus, where it becomes surrounded with 
membranes, that commence growing for the purpose; 
it becomes nourished with blood by a growth on the 
inside of the uterus, called the Placenta or afterbirth, 
and thus it continues to grow and assume more and 
more the shape of a human being, until finally, at 
about seven months from the time the vesicle became 
impregnated, the being becomes so far organized as to 
be able to live in the external world. Nine months, 
however, is the natural period for the full development 
of the child, before it is expelled from the uterus. 

We have described to you the different organs of 
generation of the male and female ; we will now de- 
scribe, in connected detail, the process of propagation. 
In order that the human species might increase, our 
Creator placed in its mental organization a desire for 
sexual intercourse — a desire sometimes almost incon- 
trollable. This mutual desire brings the two sexes 
together ; it renders the generative organs in a proper 
condition to become united together. 

When the penis of the male is introduced into the 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 181 

vagina of the female, after a certain lapse of time, 
varying in different individuals and under different 
circumstances according to the exertion and energies 
of the individuals, the little muscles surrounding the 
urethra and vesiculse seminales are stimulated to con- 
tract, which contraction forces the semen into the 
vagina of the female. The discbarge of the semen 
satisfies, for the time, the venereal desires of the male 
and female. 

The semen, after it is discharged into the vagina, 
goes up into the uterus, and from the uterus up the 
Fallopian tubes, and finally comes in contact with the 
little vesicles in the ovaria and stimulates them to 
germinate, thus producing impregnation. Immedi- 
ately the new being commences forming. The loose 
fringe of the Fallopian tube grasps the detached vesi- 
cle and conveys it to the uterus. Here it becomes 
developed gradually until, at the expiration of about 
seven months, it has acquired all the necessary organi- 
zation to enable it to live in the external world ; it is 
not expelled, however, until two months afterward, it 
being then more perfectly developed and better able to 
resist the influences of the external world. 

While in the womb the being does not breathe nor 
is it nourished by food introduced into the stomach, 
as in the external world, but it is nourished by the 
blood of the mother introduced into the child by 
bloodvessels in the umbilical or navel cord. Cover- 
ing a great portion of the inside of the uterus during 
pregnancy, is a growth, called the Placenta 01 After- 
birth, which receives blood from the mother through 
the uterus, and conveys it to the child, for its nourish- 
ment, through the umbilical cord. 

The blood is circulated through the body of the 



182 A SUPPLEMENTAL LECTURE ON 

foetus by its heart, but it does not go through its 
lungs, there being an opening between the two cavities 
of the heart, which lets the blood go from the right 
side, as it is returned from the system, into the left 
side, whose contraction forces it through the system. 
At birth the lungs are first expanded, and the blood, 
in passing through the heart, changes its direction; 
instead of going from the right side of the heart 
directly into the left side, it goes from the right side 
through the lungs, and from the lungs into the left 
side of the heart. The hole between the two cavities 
of the heart closes up. The umbilical circulation lasts 
until the child commences breathing, and then it stops. 
There is always a necessity, while the child is passing 
through what are called the Straits of the pelvis, for 
the umbilical cord to be free from pressure until the 
head is born and the circulation through the lungs is 
established. Pressure of the umbilical cord, before 
birth, is as fatal to the child as strangulation would be 
after birth. 

The circumstances necessary for the impregnation 
of woman are; that the semen of the male be intro- 
duced into the vagina, and that the vagina have a free 
communication with the uterus, and that the uterus 
have a free communication, through the Fallopian 
tubes, with the vesicles of the ovaria. It is not neces- 
sary that the semen be introduced far up into the 
vagina. Women have been surprised at finding them- 
selves impregnated from the semen being discharged 
between the outer lips of the vulva. Possibly barren- 
ness, in a majority of cases, is owing to some obstruc- 
tion of the Fallopian tubes, which prevents the semen 
coming in contact with the ovarian vesicles. Barren- 
ness can be produced, where there is a necessity for it, 



OJBGANIC GENERATION. 183 

on account of the narrowness of the pelvis or other 
constitutional defects, by interrupting the communica- 
tion between the uterus and ovaria by a section of the 
Fallopian tubes. 

A willingness of the parties is not necessary for the 
induction of impregnation. The female may be en- 
tirely unconscious of the act. A story is told of a 
priest who had connection with a young lady whom 
he supposed to be dead, but who revived and became 
pregnant not knowing how she became so. A case is 
related also of a servant-girl who was impregnated 
while lying before the fire asleep. 

There is a peculiarity of the female system that 
seems intimately connected with her generative pow- 
ers; this peculiarity is the Catamenial discharge — 
the Menses or monthly courses, as they are generally 
called. The Menses is a discharge from the uterus, 
resembling blood somewhat, which takes place, under 
favorable circumstances, once a month. The discharge 
varies in quantity from two to six ounces, and generally 
continues from three to six days. 

This Periodical discharge commences at what is 
called the age of puberty. The age at which the 
sexes take on their sexual peculiarities, the male be- 
coming capable of impregnating and the female of 
being impregnated. During the period of impregna- 
tion, and during a few months afterward, while nurs- 
ing the child, this secretion of menses is suspended. 
When the menses return the female becomes suscepti- 
ble of being impregnated again. At the age of about 
forty-five the menses become entirely suspended, from 
which time the woman is barren. 

The age of puberty differs under different circum- 
stances. In eold climates it comes on late — in females 
&0 



\ 



184 A SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE ON 

from the age of eighteen to twenty-one. In warm 
climates, from twelve to sixteen. Much depends on 
education, however, as to the early development of 
puberty. If the associations of the girl are such as to 
cause her thoughts to run much in this channel, pu- 
berty will be much earlier with her than if her thoughts 
have a different direction. 

The Generative power of both sexes may be greatly 
injured and weakened by an excessive exercise of 
them. The design of these organs is to perpetuate 
the species, and to this end should they be used, and 
not merely for the gratification of the animal passions. 
It is a wise provision for the virility of man, that 
among enlightened nations it is lawful to have but one 
wife. Where there is but one female for -the man to 
cohabit with, there is not that danger of excessive 
venery as where there are a variety of females for the 
male to bestow his favors on. 

There is an abuse of the generative organs that is 
pretty generally practiced, much worse in its conse- 
quences than excessive venery. It is Onanism or 
self-pollution ; by which the semen is discharged 
without having connection with the opposite sex. 
No practice will sooner destroy man's virility and 
even his mind, than this. This practice finally gets 
the generative organs into such a condition as to pro- 
duce involuntary emissions of semen. A lascivious 
dream, or even a lascivious thought, producing a dis- 
charge of semen. This constant drain on the nervous 
energy soon destroys it and leaves the subject a pitia- 
ble idiot. 

The Generative organs are subject to diseases of the 
most disagreeable and disgusting nature, brought on 
in the first place, by the promiscuous intercourse of 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 185 

the sexes. A virtuous young man marrying a virtuous 
young woman, neither of them, so long as they remain 
constant, will have the venereal disease. But if he or 
she have intercourse promiscuously with many persons 
of the opposite sex, venereal disease will probably be 
induced. These venereal diseases are communicable 
from one person to another while cohabiting. 

The two most common venereal diseases are Gon- 
orrhea and Syphilis, or " Clap " and " Pox." Gonor- 
rhea or clap consists in a peculiar inflammation of the 
mucous membrane, lining the urethra or tube going 
to the bladder. In coition it communicates the same 
disease to the opposite sex. If suffered to continue it 
finally almost obliterates the urinary passage, causing 
the most extreme pain when the urine is voided, or 
when the parts are in a state of erection. 

Syphilis or pox commences with a sore called a 
Chancre, on the mucous membrane lining the exter- 
nal organs of generation. The matter of these chan- 
cres communicates the same disease to the opposite 
sex during coition. Sometimes the same person has 
both of these diseases at the same time, and can com- 
municate them both to an individual of the opposite 
sex. If the sores of syphilis are suffered to remain 
four or five days, the matter is taken up by the absorb- 
ents and taken into the general system. The Lym- 
phatic glands of the groins, through which the matter 
passes, first become affected, swelling and sometimes 
suppurating; these enlarged glands, are called Buboes. 
The disease extends gradually through the system, 
showing itself in cutaneous eruptions, sore throat, and 
glandular enlargements. It finally extends to the 
bones, producing enlargements and caries of this struc- 
ture. I have seen holes eaten through the skull, so as 



186 A SUPPLEMENTARY LECTURE Off 

to expose the brain, by this dread disease. I have seen 
the bones of the nose entirely eaten away by the same 
cause. Perhaps no criminal indulgence brings more 
horrid punishment than that of the sexual organs. 
"When the disease once gets diffused through the sys- 
tem, its direful effects never become wholly eradicated. 
Parents, thus constitutionally affected, communicate 
to their offspring a. vitiated constitution. If they do 
not, in reality, communicate the real venereal disease, 
they do, nevertheless, give to their offspring a consti- 
tutional condition, the most favorable for being affected 
by most every disease that flesh is heir to. Some 
writers contend that Scrofula is but degenerated Syph- 
ilis ; certain it is that children inherit, indirectly, the 
sins of their parents, in this respect, to the third and 
fourth generation. 

My advice to you then, young gentlemen, is, that 
you obey that commandment, which says, u Thou 
shalt not commit adultery;" for the violation of no di- 
vine commandment brings so speedy and severe pun- 
ishment as this. 

If you could but witness the direful effects of the 
violation of this law as exhibited in the diseased sys- 
tems of those miserable beings, who present them- 
selves at our hospitals for relief, it would convince you 
of the truthfulness of this advice. 

It would seem as though our Creator had appended 
to this law a penalty that admitted of no abatement; 
a penalty that must punish to the death, and even 
after death, must leave its taint on the victim's pos- 
terity. 

The moral effects of promiscuous intercourse are 
fully as destructive to the character as the physical 
effects are to the body; they destroy all of the finer 



ORGANIC GENERATION. 187 

feelings of our nature; they produce a skepticism as 
to the existence of virtue ; they paralyze the mind 
against the exercise of pure thoughts ; they fill the 
heart with corrupt desires ; in a word, they annihilate 
everything that is good and praiseworthy in human- 
ity, and make their victim a loathing to himself, and 
an object of contempt and commiseration to his 
fellows. 

It is Nature's design that you use your procreative 
organs, but in a lawful way. When you have arrived 
at the proper age, and other circumstances are favor- 
able, if you can find one of the opposite sex that you 
really and purely love, and that pure love is reci- 
procated, join yourselj: to her in the holy bonds of 
wedlock. If you love her merely for her personal 
charms, and in anticipation of sexual gratification 
only, that love will be of short duration ; surfeit, and 
perhaps disgust will ensue. Your love should be of a 
purer and holier origin. You should be, in truth, 
bone of one bone, and flesh of one flesh. Your souls, 
as well as your hands should be united in wedlock. 
Your connubial love for one another should be shared 
by no other being. Actuated by such love, the exer- 
cise of the procreative organs will be a holy pleasure, 
not dissipated when the sensual gratification has 
passed. And when the charms and freshness of youth 
have become faded, your love for one another will 
glow with a brighter and more heavenly flame, and 
your souls will leave this existence in joyous anticipa- 
tion of their happy re-union hereafter. 



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